The New Alchemy Teacher
by EvilLydia
Summary: Dumbledore, while spending time reading, discovers a form of magic that isn't studied often, alchemy. His search leads him to America. Magic AU, some of the immortals are also wizards, but not all.
1. The Opportunity to start Anew or The Boy

I own no rights to any of the material I am writing about. All right to Harry Potter belong to J. K. Rolwing and Baccano belongs to Ryogo Narita.

This is a magic AU, where almost all of the immortals are wizards and alchemy is a wizarding practice.

Chapter 1 - The Opportunity to start anew or The Boy Who Lived

After the defeat of You-Know-Who countless people, meeting in secret all across the country where saying cheer in hushed voices, "To Harry Potter, the boy who lived." Little did they know that for the next ten years was going to be a living hell for him.

Several years had passed since Dumbledore had since Harry to live with his family. Being the headmaster of his school he was always looking for ways to improve his school while continuing to learning himself. During his studying, he came across an old form of magic that wasn't used very often; Alchemy. Most wizards have either never heard of the alchemy or, in some cases, never even heard of it.

According to the book that he was reading, alchemy used both magic and the muggle practice of science. Since more that half of his students come from families where one parent is a muggle or sometimes is both are, it might be a good idea to have a subject like that.

With a deep sigh, Dumbledore closed the book and set it aside. If he wanted to make this a new class he would have to talk this over with his Headmistress, that is if he could even find a person that was qualified to teach such a class. He decided that he needed to sleep for the night and speak with McGonagall in the morning.

It was nearly noon when he had caught up with her to invite her for lunch. After he explained what he found out she asked, "Can we even find a professor for this subject? It's such an uncommon practice." Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "I plan to go to the Ministry next week, surely someone can point me in the right direction."

He soon found that there was very few people that new anything about alchemy. A few times the name of Maiza Avaro came up but no one seemed to know where to find him. There was also a great library in Italy that used to teach that subject but it claim that was outdated. There was an Avaro that was a student in that school nearly 300 years who escaped to America just before the town burned. He wondered if the Avaro's passed this form of magic down through the generations.

The next summer, just after the end of the school year, he decided to travel to America to visit Mr. Avaro. When he got the office in America, he immediately questioned the whereabouts of Mr. Avaro. He was told that Mr. Avaro ran a restaurant in New York. He decided to stay the night in a pub in New York and try to find him in the morning. He almost didn't want to relax quite yet. After all this time, he wanted to hope that this would be that last step to find a professor.

The sign for the restaurant read 'Alveare'. When Dumbledore walking in, he found the place was warm and lively. There were people of every age were enjoying themselves. The smell of honey was strong in the air. In the middle of the room there a large group of people surrounding two others that were telling a very animated story.

A young Chinese woman walked up to him and said in a very cheery voice, "Table for one?" Dumbledore stroked his beard and said, "I'm actually looking for someone. Is there a man named Mr. Avaro here?" She looked toward the direction of the kitchen before she said, "Please come with me l, sir."

She led him to a table and said, "Wait here for a moment, please." She gave him a quick bow and walked into the kitchen. While he was alone he looked around the room. This place was a bit odd. He had never been in a place like this. Some of the people were obviously wizards but others looked like they might be Muggles.

Before long, a young man came up and sat down across from him. He looked very clean cut, like a young business man. Thin glasses were perched on his nose.

"Mr. Avaro, I assume. My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Its a pleasure to meet you." said Dumbledore, extended his hand. The young man lightly grasped his hand but looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well," he said, taking his hand back and scratching the back of his head. "Ah, hello Mr. Dumbledore. I'm sorry to say that Maiza isn't here. My name is Firo Prochainezo. Perhaps I could help you instead."

Dumbledore had considered waiting for Mr. Avaro but didn't see any reason not to talk to this young man for now.

"May I ask what what business you have with Maiza?" he asked politely. Dumbledore considered not telling him but he saw no reason not to. "I had heard that he was a master of the art of alchemy and was hoping that he could, perhaps teach my students." Mr. Prochainezo rested his chin on his hand and said, "Ah, sorry, I can't help you 'cause I don't really know where he is right now. And its not like I really now very many other people that know alchemy, well besides me, and maybe Ronnie."

This peeked Dumbledore's interest. "You know about alchemy as well?" he asked. "Would you mind telling where you learned?" An impish smirked crossed Mr. Prochainezo's face. "Hehehe, I suppose that I could partially thank Maiza for it." When it was clear that he wasn't going to tell him any more, Dumbledore laced his fingers on the table and said, "How old are you, Mr. Prochainezo?" Mr. Prochainezo looked like he was going to laugh. "I'm older than I look." He answered vaguely.

While he was here, he decided to find out how much Mr. Prochainezo knew. "Speaking of alchemy, do you know anything about the emerald tablet?" Mr. Prochainezo looked down for a moment before saying. "Yeah, yeah, of course. That's the one of the foundations of alchemy." Dumbledore waited for him to continue. "Let's see, there were 15 things written on it. Ah, I believe that Isaac Newton was one of the people that translated that pretty well. Um, tis true without lying, certain and most true. This which is below is like that which is above and that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing. And as all things have been and arose from one by the meditation of one, so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation."

While he was thinking, the young waitress came back and set drinks in front of them before leaving without a word. Dumbledore took a sip of it. It tasted like alcohol sweetened by honey.

At this point, Mr. Prochainezo had his eyes closed in concentration. There was a troubled look on his face. "The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse. Next is, the father of all perfection in the whole world is here. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth." Dumbledore was fairly impressed by his display. Even though he had been studying this subject he didn't remember all of them.

"Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, sweetly with great industry. It ascends from the earth to the heaven and again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior." he continued, "By this, means you shall have the glory of the whole world and thereby all obscurity shall fly from you. Um, Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing. So was the world created. From this are and do come admirable adaptations where f the means, or process, is here in this. Hence I call Hermes, um, hold on, let me think. Oh, right, Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended."

Mr. Prochainezo took a deep breath when he was finished. "My that was quite impressive." Congratulated Dumbledore. Mr. Prochainezo took a sip of his drink before saying, "Although, not everyone who studied this believes the same thing." "What do you mean by that?" asked Dumbledore. Mr. Prochainezo scratched his cheek and said, "Well, originally alchemy had been seeped in religion and some alchemists thought that they could summon a demon. Others believe that things like that are just hokuspokus. Its more or less a split between two different groups. Although, I suppose you could do a bit of both."

Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at him. "Your really are quite well versed in this subject." he stated. Mr. Prochainezo smiled and had a mixture of pride and slight embarrassment on his face. "I suppose I am." As he was saying this, a man that looked slightly older came up and stood behind him. "Firo," he said. Mr. Prochainezo turned around shapely and exclaimed, "Maiza! I didn't know you were going to be back already."

"Ah, hello Mr. Avaro." said Dumbledore. "Its a pleasure to meet you. My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Mr. Avaro smiled gently at him. He could see something mysterious behind his smile. "Ronnie had already told me the situation." he said, looking down at Mr. Prochainezo. He then turned to Dumbledore and said, "Firo may not seem very old but I can assure you that, he is more that qualified for the job."

Mr. Prochainezo looked surprised at this. "What are you talking about, Maiza?" "Exactly what I just said." he clapped him on the shoulder. "You know more about this subject that I do." Mr. Prochainezo bit his lip a bit. "I'm going to be in New York for a while, so take some time and think about it." Dumbledore offered. Mr. Avaro extended his hand and said, "Absolutely, we'll be in contact."  
*******************************************************

In the novels, Firo wears fake glasses to make him look older.


	2. Preparing for School or The Vanishing Gl

Chapter 2 - Preparing for School or The Vanishing Glass

The night after the meeting with Dumbledore, Firo and Maiza sat down to have a serious talk about teaching. Although Firo was uncertain about it Maiza insisted that he was the right person for the job.

After a lot of convincing, Firo agreed that he would teach. Ronnie, overhearing the conversation, offered to get Dumbledore back. Firo was honestly surprised at how easily Molsa agreed to this. In fact, he was almost as enthusiastic as Maiza.

"Make sure that you tell him we're going to talk over dinner." said Maiza. Ronnie nodded and headed off. "You're sure that I can teach a bunch of children?" Firo asked again. Maiza smiled gently at him and said, "I am certain that you can."

That evening Dumbledore had followed Ronnie back to the restaurant. Maiza had left him alone to do this. Something had happened on their turf, and while normally it would be Firo who would take care of this, Maiza went in his place.

"Did Mr. Avaro not want to join us?" Dumbledore asked as they shook hands. "Ah sorry," he said, "Maiza was busy." "Ah, I see."

Dumbledore folded his hands in front of his face, his eyes were shining brightly. "Last we spoke, you seemed a bit uncertain." Dumbledore pointed out. Firo sighed, "Yeah, and to be honest I still am. I've never had to teach anyone before and I need to brush up on some things but I'm sure that I can if I have some time to prepare."

Dumbledore looked happy with this answer. Lia, a waitress that became immortal almost 70 years ago, came over and gave them both alcoholic drink sweetened with honey. He thanked her before she left.

Taking a sip he said, "Oh, this is very good." Firo smiled at him. "Actually," Dumbledore continued, "that works well for the both of us. It's too short notice to open a new course this year. Besides, it would be very irresponsible of me to just hire someone to take care of my students for an entire year on the spot." Firo smirked, "I would be a little worried if you did."

Dumbledore placed his drink on the table and gave Firo a very serious look. Firo responded with a serious look of his own. "I'm sure you are aware of the events that happened 9 years ago?" Firo assumed that he was talking about the dark wizard. Like most wizards, Dumbledore probably only payed attention to things that happened in the wizarding world. He nodded and waited for Dumbledore to continue.

"Next year Harry Potter, the only survivor, will be entering his first year of school." Even though his eyes were shining as brightly as before, worry lined his voice. Firo shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I've heard of him but to me one kid is just like any other. I have no attachment to him." Dumbledore chuckled a little at this. "I see, good to hear."

Lia and Lizzy, a new waitress, brought out a roasted chicken with a coat of special honey glaze. It was a new recipe and he was actually trying it for the first time, although he had heard from others that it was really good. "Thank you, ladies." said Dumbledore. "No problem, sir. Enjoy." said Lizzy and Lia nodded before the left to take care of the other patrons again.

As Firo started to dig in Dumbledore took his time looking around the room. "This is an interesting place." He looked over at Isaac and Miria, who had ropes and bells wrapped around themselves for some reason. "You're right," said Firo. "This is the only place that I know that allows both wizards and nomages to talk freely. Everyone here knows about magic but not everyone is a wizard."

Firo enjoyed the shocked look on Dumbledore's face. "I'm surprised that the Ministry allows such a place." Firo gave him an impish grin, "As long as we don't cause trouble the Ministry leaves us alone." Dumbledore was clearly confused but left it alone.

Over the next year, they kept in contact through letters. Firo spent a lot of time studying and gathering supplies that he might need. Although he had never liked studying before he really wanted to take this seriously.  
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Harry had spent the last ten years of his life living under a cupboard at his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's house. One of the first lessons that he had been taught was that he was never suppose to ask questions. They didn't like him and they made that every clear. When he was younger he dreamed that someone, maybe some unknown relative, would come and rescue him from this place.

The morning of Dudleys birthday, Harry was cooking breakfast for the family. Dudley had thrown a fit about not as many presents as last year so they offers to buy him two more.

Every year his aunt and uncle would Dudley and one of his friends out for the day while he stayed with their neighbor, Mrs. Figg. He didn't like her house, it smelled like cabbage and she made him look at pictures of all the cats she'd ever owned. But this year she had broken her leg which meant that they had no choice than to take him with them.

Upon hearing the new, Dudley began to pretend to cry. He knew that if he did, he would get anything he wanted. Aunt Petunia ran up to him and rapped her arms around him, "Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" "I... don't... want... him t-t-to come!" he sobbed. "He always sp-spoils everything!" Harry could see him give a nasty smirk through his mother's arms.

As this was happening, the doorbell rang. As Pier Polkiss, Dudley's friend came in the room, he stopped crying immediately.

As they were getting ready to leave, Uncle Vernon pulled Harry to the side and said, "I'm warning you," Uncle Vernon drew his face uncomfortably close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now boy, any funny business, anything at all, and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas." "I'm not going to be anything. Honestly..." he said.

Uncle Vernon didn't believe him but that wasn't surprising. No one every believed him about anything. There were so many times that strange things had happened to him, things that he couldn't explain but he still got in trouble for it.

That one of the best mornings he'd had in quite a while. He spent the first part of the day looking at the animals while avoiding Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored by lunch time. Once Uncle Vernon had bought Dudley a Knickerbocker glory but threw a tantrum when there wasn't enough ice cream on top. Harry was allowed to finish it.

After that they went to the reptile house. Dudley immediate found the biggest in the place, a boa constrictor. The snake was asleep in the shade. It's enclosure looked impossibly boring.

Dudley had his nose pressed against the glass, staring and ordered, "Made it move." Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass but it didn't do anything. "Do it again." complained again. This time Uncle Vernon knocked on the glass with this Knuckles. Again the snake did nothing.

"This is boring." moaned Dudley as he walked away. When Harry moved in front of him the snake raised his head to Harry's level and winked. Harry spoke to him through the glass, he was almost certain the snake could understand him. Harry was saddened with he realized that the snake had never been to Brazil.

When Piers sees that the snake is moving around he yells, "DUDLEY! MR. DURLSLEY! COM AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DON'T!" They came over and push Harry to the side, saying, "Out of the way, you." Harry had fallen to the ground.

What happened next was almost to quick for him to follow. Dudley and his friend had jumped back quickly and yelled in horror. The glass from of the tank had disappeared. The snake uncoiled itself and left the tank. As he slithered past Harry, he could hear a hissing voice say, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo."

As they were in the car Dudley and Piers were telling about how they nearly escaped, that was a clear exaggeration. Unfortunatly Piers said, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?" It was to much for Uncle Vernon. When Piers was out of the house he was so purple and so angry that he could hardly speak. "Go..cupboard...stay...no..meals..."

He waited in his dark room alone. Without a watch he didn't know what time it was. After quite a while, he thought about how he wanted some food. He couldn't risk go out and get some. There was no way of telling if the Dursley's were asleep.  
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A Knickerbocker glory is a British desert that is similar to a sundae.


	3. Moving Away or Letters from nowhere

chapter 3 - Moving Away or Letters from nowhere

Firo began spend more time then ever studying. He had asked for help from Maiza and Czeslaw. Most of the things that he was studying he already knew, in the back of his mind. It was an odd feeling, remembering other peoples memories. He found that it was easier to remember things that he knew when he was studying them rather than just trying to remember them.

It also highlighted the fact that everyone learned things differently. He remembered all the research both Szilard and the people he absorbed had done, and the different ways that they had gone about figuring out the same thing. Some of them had different morals or specialties that prevented them from doing certain things but most of them had come up with pretty much the same basics.

He also had to take into account that he was going to teach people as young as 11 years old. The closet thing that he had done before it was showing new members of the Martillo family how to fight with a knife. The thought of Czes crossed his mind, but he didn't count. He didn't meet Czes as a kid, he had memories of him as a kid but that wasn't the same thing. He had never actually taught Czes anything anyway; by the time that he had met him, Czes was already older than he was.

The Headmaster had sent him a letter asking him what spell books he wanted to assign to students this year. He hadn't answered him yet because he didn't know. The only alchemy spell book he had seen from the magical community would be to advanced from most of the students there. He wasn't sure where to start.

One day, just a few months from the start of school, while he was studying, he turned to Czes, who was helping him study, and said, "Hey Czes," Czes looked at him so he continued, "Are you planning on coming with me and Ennis? The Headmaster said that while I'm teaching she can stay in a cottage in Hogsmeade." Czes put a hand to his chin and looked up in thought before saying, "Yeah, just for this year. I want to see what an all wizard village looks like. Plus," he smirked mischievously at Firo, "Hogwarts has library that rivals the 3rd library, so you can borrow books for me." Firo put us his hands and said, "I don't know about that, besides, it's going to be 'just this year' for me too. I don't plan on teaching more than that."

That night, Professor Dumbledore contacted him via fireplace. He told him that it was imperative that he choose the book for this year because he needed to send it out the letters to the students. "I have been thinking about this for a while. I have a contact that will supply me with some books, so I'll just hand out book for my first lesson. I want the students to bring a blank book, like a notebook, that they can fill in for themselves. That way they can have a textbook that they made themselves" Firo answered. Professor Dumbledore nodded, "If that is what you think is best. I will see you in two months then, goodbye Professor Prochainezo." "Goodbye."

As the fire returned to normal, Firo sighed and took a seat. He hadn't heard Ronnie enter the room. "What you're trying to do with those books is a pretty clever way of teaching." he said, startling Firo a bit. Firo turned and replied, "Well, it makes sense right?" Ronnie nodded, "Although, I don't think that many wizarding teachers would approve of using no maj science books." Firo shrugged his shoulders, "Alchemy is base in science with magic as a medium. Ah well, you could just have alchemy without magic as well I suppose. But I guess the wizarding community wouldn't like me teaching that, right?"

"Well no matter," said Ronnie, "I've bought the middle school science books in the way that you've requested. Do you want me to have them delivered to the school?" Firo nodded, "As close as you can. You didn't have any problems did you?" Ronnie gave him a sly smile, "Of course not."  
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Harry's punishment lasted until the end of summer vacation. This year Dudley had been accepted into Smeltings, a private school that Uncle Vernon had gone to while Harry was going to Stonewall high, a local high school.

Dudley and his friends had spent their time playing a special game they made up called 'Harry Hunting.' Dudley was the leader, he was the biggest and most stupid of them. For the most part, Harry was able to out run them.

The evening after Aunt Petunia took him to get his uniform for school, he spent parading around the living room. Uncle Vernon said it was the proudest moment of his life and Aunt Petunia had burst into tears.

The next morning Harry was met with a foul smell in the kitchen. There was a metal tub in the sink filled with rags and gray water. When he asked Aunt Petunia what it was, she answered with a scowl, as she always did whenever he asked a question, "Your new school uniform." he looked at it again, "Oh, I didn't realize it had to be so wet."

She glared at him and snapped, "Don't be stupid, I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished." He highly doubted it. He suspected that he looked like he was going to look like he was wearing old elephant skin.

While everyone was sitting down for breakfast the mail came. Harry went to get it and found three letters, a bill, a letter from Aunt Marge, who hated him, and the final one was something for him. It came in a thick, heavy, yellow parchment but there was no stamp. There was was a purple wax meal with a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake all round a big H. The address was written in emerald green ink, it said:

Mr. H. Potter  
The Cupboard under the Stairs  
4 Private Drive

Harry was surprised to say the least. He had never received a letter; with no friends or family other then the Durselys, he didn't have anyone to receive a letter from. While turning the letter over in his hands, he heard Uncle Vernon calling, "Hurry up, boy! What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" he laughed at his own stupid joke.

He returned to the kitchen and gave to other things to Uncle Vernon while he slowly began to open his letter. "Marge's ill. Ate a funny whelk..." Uncle Vernon said to Aunt Petunia. Unfortunately, Dudley had noticed what Harry was doing, "Dad! Dad, Harry's got something!" he tattled on him.

Before he had a chance to read the thick parchment, Uncle Vernon snatched it out of his hand. "That's mine!" Harry yelled, trying to get it back. Uncle Vernon sneered at him "Who'd be writing to you?" As soon as he glanced at it, his face became very pale. "P-p-petunia!" he called to his wife.

Dudley was curious, and not used to being ignored, so he demanded to see the letter. Harry, the person that the letter was actually addressed to, demanded to see the letter as well. Uncle Vernon grabbed them both and threw them out of the kitchen, they listened though the door.

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia talked about how 'they' were spying on the house. Uncle Vernon insisted that they would just ignoring it, saying that they didn't want one of 'them' in the house. He mentioned how they swore they would stamp out 'that nonsense'.

When Uncle Vernon got home from work from work Harry questioned him about the letter but was told it was a mistake and he burned it. When Harry protested, saying that it was even addressed to his cupboard Uncle Vernon said that he could have Dudley's second bedroom.

The bedroom was where Dudley kept all of his toys that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. Nearly everything in the room was broken. While he laying on the bed he heard Dudley crying to his mother about how he needed that room and wanted Harry to get out. Up until today, he would have done anything to be here but now he would have rather be in his cupboard with that letter than here without it.  
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About a month before the start of the school year, Firo said his goodbyes and moved his family to England. It didn't take them long to reach Hogsmeade.

Firo had seen magical stores before, but Hogsmeade was amazing. After delivering all of their things things at the new Prochainezo household, Firo and Ennis decided to explore the village while Czeslaw stayed to set up their home. Ennis had asked him to come with them but he insisted that he was too tired.

After a while of shopping they decided to go to the Three Broomsticks to had some Butterbeer before they returned home for the night. After sitting in a corner with their drinks Ennis asked, "When are you going to the castle?" "Tomorrow. I'm just going to put some personal things in my quarters and set up my office. I'll bring up the books in the evening if I have time." "Do you know what the surprise that the Marillo Family gave you is?" she asked. Firo shook his head and replied, "No idea, but I was told that it would make this job easier. Maiza said that it was going to be with the books."  
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Everyone stayed quiet at as Dudley threw his temper tantrum. He screamed, whacked his father with his new Smelting stick, pretended to be sick, kicked his mother, and even thrown his pet turtle throw the roof of the greenhouse, but in the end he didn't get his room back. All this time, Harry was thinking about the letter he almost received yesterday and wished desperately he had been able to open it. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia just kept looking at each other darkly.

When the mail came Uncle Vernon, who had been trying to pretend to be nice to Harry, made Dudley retrieve it.

As he went, they could hear him banging on the walls with his Smelting stick before he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Rivet Drive-" Uncle Vernon uttered a strangled cry as jumped from his seat and ran down the hall. Harry followed closely behind him.

As Uncle Vernon wrestled Dudley to the ground to try and take the letter from him, Harry wrapped his hands around Uncle Vernon's thick neck from behind. In the end, Uncle Vernon ended up with the letter in his hand. "Get to you cupboard, I mean, your bedroom," he was wheezing. "Dudley, go, just go."

Harry paced the room, thinking about what he had just found out. Whoever was sending the letters knew that he moved from the cupboard to the bedroom somehow. That meant they really were watching to the house. They would probably try and send a letter again. This time he had a plan to make sure that he wasn't going to fail.

The next morning, the alarm he had set woke him at 6. He turned it off quickly and go dressed before heading downstairs in the dark. He had planned to wait at the corner for the postman. He was determined to the first to see that letter. At he went to walk out the door he stepped on something big and squishy followed by a loud yell.

He jumped into the air, startled. When the lights come on, he could see that Uncle Vernon had been in a sleeping bag by the front door. For some reason, Uncle Vernon wanted to keep this letter away from of him so desperately and that made Harry want to see it that much more.

After about half an hour of being yelled at, Uncle Vernon told him to go and make him some tea. Slowly he shuffled into the kitchen, disappointed at his recent failure. By the time he had got back, the mail had come and he could see a letter with green ink sitting on Uncle Vernon's lap."I want" he started but Uncle Vernon was already destroying the letter.

Uncle Vernon stayed home from work that day and nailed the mail slot closed. "See," he explained desperately to his wife, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up." "I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon." she tried to reason but he responded, "Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me."

Over the next couple of days, mail for him kept pouring in. When they couldn't get through the mail slot they were pushed under the door or stuffed in the sides and some were even put through the small window in the bathroom downstairs. By Friday 12 letters had been delivered for him. Uncle Vernon stayed home again. He burned all the letters and spent the rest of the day nailing up boards around the doors so no one could get out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips," and jumped at every little noise.

It was obvious that the unusual series of events had taken his toll on him.

The next day, they found letters hidden in each of the two dozen eggs that the milkman delivered. He was a bit confused when he had to hand them to Aunt Petunia through the window. Uncle Vernon called both the post office and the dairy, looking for someone to complain to. Meanwhile Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.

"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked. Harry still didn't know either.

Uncle Vernon looked tired but happy as he sat down for breakfast on Sunday morning. "No post on Sundays, do damn letters today" he said happily. As they started eating something flew into through the kitchen chimney and hit him on the back of the head. Within seconds, 30 or 40 letters came down as fast of bullets.

As the rest of the family ducked to avoid being hit, Harry jumped into the air in hopes of catching on. He could hear uncle Vernon scream, "Out! OUT!" He grabbed harry around the waist and threw in the hall. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley came into the hall with them, Uncle Vernon slammed the door behind them. Harry could still hear the letters pelting the door.

Over the next week they stayed in several places, always running from the letters that seemed to follow Harry everywhere that they went. Dudley was whining about being hungry and missing television programs. He had never had such a bad day in his entire life. He was certain that his father had gone crazy.

Dudley had reminded them that it was Monday, Harry had nearly forgotten that tomorrow was his birthday. His birthdays had never been much fun, for his last birthday the Dursleys gave him a coat hanger and a pair of old socks. But still, his birthday was a special day.

"Found the perfect place!" Uncle Vernon came back to them smiling. "Come on! Everyone out!" They drove to a rocky area. On the very top was the saddest looking little shack. "Storm forecast for tonight! And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"

Uncle Vernon gave them the rations that he had brought, he turned into a bag of chips and four bananas each. He watched as one of empty bags shriveled in the fire. "Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" Uncle Vernon teased. He was in a good move, certain that they were safe from those letters. Harry agreed that the letters probably wouldn't reach them here.

As the rest of the family fell asleep he watched Dudley's watch. 10 minutes until he was 11 years old. The whole time he was thinking about who was writing the letters to him. Someone really wanted to tell him something. Five minutes to go he had heard a thump outside. He assumed that it was something in the storm.

Two minutes before midnight there was a funny crunching noise. He thought it might be a the rock the shack was on was starting to crumble into the see.

Just as midnight approached, there was a loud BOOM!. The whole shack shook and Harry sat upright. Someone was knocking on the door.


	4. Settling in or the Keeper of Keys

Nothing much is happening right now, so that chapters are going to be kinda short until Harry actually starts school

Chapter 4 - Settling in or the Keeper of Keys

Hagird knocked on the door again. The weather was awful but since Harry's birthday only came once a year. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't excited to see Harry again. It had been too long since he had left him. He had always thought that leaving him with those Dursley's was a bad idea but Dumbledore said that it was the best choice so that's what they they did.

He knocked fairly loudly so that he could be heard over the rain. He couldn't hear anything from inside so he decided to knock again. Unfortunately, he knocked a little to hard and the door fell to the ground. The entire family was there in the main room.

He came inside, having to stoop to keep from hitting his head on the ceiling, and put the door back in place before turning back to the family. "Couldn't make us a cup o' tea could yeh?" he said, "It's not been an easy journey..." He saw Harry and his cousin sitting on the couch. Petunia was over in the corner hiding behind her husband. "Budge you, yeh great lump." he said to the other boy. He jumped up with a squeak and ran to his mother, like a little baby.

He looked at Harry and he could see the James and Lily in him. "An' here's Harry!" he smiled at him. "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby. Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got her mom's eyes." Dusley made an annoying noise behind him. He wanted to ignore him but then Dursely said, "I demand that you leave at once, sir! You are breaking and entering!"

Hagrid was annoyed with him but he didn't need to start anything. "Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune." he turned around and twisted the gun into a knot before turning back to Harry. Harry looked amazed at what he just did. "Anyway, Harry" he continued, "A very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat her yeh here. I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." he pulled out the cake from inside his coat that he had brought for him.

The box had gotten squished a little bit but it still looked alright. He gave it to Harry. The poor boy was nearly shaking as he opened the little box. The chocolate cake was still OK, the words 'Harry Birthday Harry' were still very readable in their green icing.

Harry looked like he was shocked. He looked up at him like he was at a loss for words, "Who are you?" Hagird could help but chuckle a bit. "True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He held out his hand to shack his hand, but he ended up engulfing Harry's tiny arm.

He spent the rest of the evening explaining to Harry that he is actually a wizard after bringing out the food that he had brought with him. It was an uncomfortable subject, but he had to explain 'You-Know-Who' as well.

He was very angry that they lied to Harry, to tell him that that they died in a car accident. He had even lost his temper as one pointand tried to cast a spell so turn the little Dursley brat into pig. Luckily it didn't work completely. He had planned to take Harry to get his school supplies in the morning.  
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Firo saw all the books that were delivered, and was very grateful for Ennis' help moving them up to the castle. Although he didn't actually do anything, Czes also came along. He had been curious about the castle. They could see it from the village but seeing it up close was something else. They moved everything up to the school with a spell to levitate all of them at once. Czeslaw decided to sit atop of the books as floated across the ground.

Along with the stacks upon stacks of books, there was also several boxes without labels. There was a letter on top of it. Before they began moving the books, Ennis picked up the letter and began to read out loud, As she was reading it the books fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Congratulations Firo,  
we are confident that you will be a wonderful teacher. We went over the school supplies list and thought that these would come in handy for your students. Don't forget to tell us all of the wonderful things that happen in England. I am proud of you and am certain that we will do well.  
Sincerely, Don Martello

He smiled as she read it. It was short but sweet, and it was good to know that the Martillo's really cared about him. He opened up one of the boxes and found that it was full of mechanical pencils and erasers. With all the boxes, there should be enough to give each student two or three. "We should up to the castle." Czes interrupted them. As the other two nodded, they saw an elderly man walking toward them.

When he got a little closer Firo raised a hand into the air, "Hello Professor Dumbledore." Dumbledore smiled and nodded in his direction. "Good morning Professor Prochainezo." Firo made a face as Czes snickered and Ennis smiled behind him. "That still sounds weird." Firo mumbled.

He then turned to towards them, "This is my wife Ennis and my little brother, Czes." "It nice to meed you both." greeted Dumbledore. Czeslaw hopped off the books and walked to Dumbledore to shake his hand. "Hello," he said to the Headmaster, "its a pleasure to meet you sir." Dumbledore's eyes sparkled, "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, I hope that you will have a pleasant say in the village."

Ennis smiled and stepped forward to shake his hand as well, "The entire family would like to thank you for the opportunity that you are giving Firo. This will be interesting for all of us." Dumbledore turned her attention to her, "I'm glad you feel that way. If they is anything you need, please feel free to come to me."

"Actually," said Firo, "could I decorate the classroom? I've got some paint, but it's nothing that can't be taken off easily." Dumbledore clasped his hands in front of him. "Of course. This classroom with be yours for the year. You can put any decoration that will help the students learn." "Alright." Answered Firo, "I'm going to spend a bit to time setting up, then we should go to Diagon Alley."

"Ah," Dumbledore interrupted, "I would like for you to attend a meeting with the other teachers. All of them are here except Professor Quirrell and Madam Hooch. They should be here before too long, but I will brief them later." Firo nodded, "Yeah, I'd loved to meet them."


	5. Diagon Alley

Thank you for your comments (I talking to you Pikapalsforever12). I always got so excited when I read them. Its awesome that there are people that enjoy my stories. There are several differences between the book and the movie. I didn't realize this until I started writing this how many differences there are.

Chapter 5 - Diagon Alley

The meeting was pretty boring, the teachers were just introduced to each other, even though he was really the only one that didn't know the others. Apparently he wasn't the only new teacher this year but he was was the youngest. Well that wasn't quite true, but they didn't need to know that.

When he was finished with the meeting, the Head Master showed him around the castle. "What do you think of the other teachers?" he asked while waiting for the staircase to move in the right position. Firo crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side while he was thinking. "It seems like I have to prove myself before anyone is going to trust me." Dumbledore chuckled, "Its just because you seem fairly young. I'm sure you'll do fine."

"By the way," said Firo, just as the stairs arrived, "how would we go about getting into Diagon Alley?" "Ah," replied Dumbledore, "the best way would be to go though the Leakey Cauldron. You need a wand." As they walked up the stairs he explained how to get into Diagon Alley and then told him some of his favorite shops.

That night, when he went back to the cottage, he and Ennis looked over the map that she had gotten in town. The talked about all the different shops that they could visit. They assumed that Czeslaw was going to stay at home but he said that he wanted to visit the book store as well as the potion supply shop.  
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After waking up fairly early that morning, Harry and Hagrid left by boat and sailed until they reached the shore. As they walked through the city people were staring at Hagrid. Harry was a bit excited because he had never been to London before. Hagrid seemed to know way but wasn't used to getting there the normal way. The ticket barrier was on the Underground was a obstacle for him. When he got on the train he complained loudly that the seats were too small and that the train was too slow.

After they got moving Hagrid took out some knitting while Harry pulled out the envelope from his pocket. Hagrid looked at him and said, "Good, there's a list there of everything yeh need." He hadn't noticed the second paper before. He unfolded it and read to himself;

"HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set of glass or crystal phials

1 telescope set

1 brass scales

1 blank note book of your choice (200 pages or more)

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS"

Some of these things sounded pretty amazing, like 'The Dark Forces' book or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them'. Or things like dragon hide gloves. "Can we buy all this in London?" he accidentally said out loud. "If yeh know where to go." said Hagrid, who had gone back to his knitting.

After they got off the train, they had to climb up a broken down escalator. Hagrid shook his head, "I don't know how the Muggles manage without manage without magic." The escalator let to a busy road that was lined with shops.

As Hagrid made his way through through the crowd, Harry followed closely behind so that he wouldn't get lost. Harry looked around at all the shops of the way and imagined what the wizarding bank might be like. He wondered how they kept secret in such a busy city.

He looked up at Hagrid walking in front of him. If the Dursleys hadn't been no humorless, he would have thought that this was some sort of joke by them. But somehow this huge man, this giant in front of him had a trust worthy feel to him.  
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It wasn't until late that morning that the Prochainezo family got to London. The Leakey Cauldron was alive with excitement when they entered. Firo walked up to the bar and said, "What's all the commotion about."

A middle aged woman leaned over to him and said in an airy voice, "Harry Potter was just here." A man just a little younger said, "Oh yes, it wasn't the first time I saw him. He even remembered me." The first woman rolled her eyes, "That's because you made a fool of yourself and probably embarrassed him. Bowing to him in a muggle shop, I can't believe you."

A young man, just a couple of years older than Firo looked, nodded in agreement. He was thin and pale with one of his eyes twitching; a frail, shaking man. "M-m-meeting P-p-potter was quite Exciting, i-indeed." He clasped his hands in front of him. Firo looked away, "That's cool I guess." He received a few glares. Apparently not being excited about Potter was socially unacceptable.

He was going to excuse himself when he heard someone speaking to him, "H-hold on a m-m-moment please." Firo turned back to the pale man, "What's the matter?" he asked. Firo fully expected this man to ask him what was wrong with him or something.

"A-are you P-p-p-professor Prochainezo?" he didn't expect to be recognized as a teacher here. Firo put a hand behind his head, "Yeah, this is my first year teaching." "Well that's obvious." snickered the woman behind him. The man smiled at him, "I-I'm also t-t-teaching at Hogwarts for the first time. I w-went to school there."

Firo then realized something, "Oh!" he perked up, "You're Professor Quirrell!" Quirrell stepped back at the sudden exclamation. "Y-y-yes, I t-teach the Defense A-a-against the D-D-Dark Arts." He looked like he just tasted something awful as he said that. "Well I-I have to g-g-go and p-pick up a new b-b-book." Firo nodded, "My family and I are going shopping too."

The four of them headed to Diagon Alley together, but separated once they got there. "I don't like him." said Czes quietly. Firo knitted his brows, he didn't want to say anything but he agreed. That man gave off a weird feeling."Let's go to the bank." offered Ennis as a change of subject.

When they got inside the building a goblin bowed to them as they passed the first set of doors. Firo stopped at the at the second set to read the inscription engraved on the silver doors. "Enter, stranger," he read out loud, "but take heed of what awaited the sin of greed. For those who take, but do not earn must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors a treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned, beware of finding more than treasure there."

He looked over at his wife, "Oow, scary." he said sarcastically. Czes pointed at him, "The magic community doesn't mess around." Ennis nodded, "You would have to be crazy to try and rob this place." "I hope that my account from America can transfer over." said Firo in deep thought. Ennis crossed her arms, "Yeah, that would be terrible if we couldn't take out any money." Czes walked in front of them, "Don't worry about that."

There were lots of goblins, all working with money or precious stones. Firo flagged down one that looked like he wasn't doing anything. "Hey, over here." The goblin walked over, he looked irritated.

Before Firo had a chance to say anything Czes stepped in front of him. "I'd like to withdraw money from the safe of Czeslaw Meyer." "Do you have your key, sir." asked the goblin. Czes pulled out a small golden key from his front pocket and gave it to the goblin who held it close to his face to examine it.

"I didn't even know you had an account." stated Firo. Czes shrugged, "I've had this account since the early 1900's." The goblin then took them to the vault. "I also have an account I want to withdraw from. The name is Firo Prochainezo." as he said that, he took out his own key. They were led to separate vaults were they both took money.

Czes actually had a surprising amount of money. He took out a bag from his back pocket and started filling it with money, more than you would think would fit in it. In fact, when he was finished, the bag was still very thin and he put it back in his pocket. He turned and thanked the goblin and requested to return to the surface. "Would you like to wait for your family?" Czes shook his head, "They can find their way around without me."

He had a few things that he wanted to get before he left. He had been here before but it had been a really long time. He wondered if the shops had changed very much.  
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Since Czes had disapeared as soon as they got out of the bank, Firo decided see what kind of supplies were sold there. He also thought that they might run into Czes on the way, although it wouldn't matter either way.

Just after they were finished, they saw a half giant and a boy they Ennis recognized as Harry Potter and Firo mentioned that he was probably the grounds keeper but he had forgotten his name. They weren't trying to eavesdrop but they happened to over hear him talking about some other boy that he had met earlier.

"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in." Harry finished. "Yer not form a Muggle family." said the grounds keeper. "If he'd known who yeh were, he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles, look at yer mum! Look what she had her a sister!"

Firo thought that what he said was a pretty good advise. He didn't like to listen in on their conversation but he wanted to talk to grounds keeper.

"So what is Quidditch?" asked Harry. Firo didn't actually know all that much about it. It wasn't like there wasn't any Quidditch in America but he just wasn't that big of a fan so he didn't really know that much about it. "It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like, like soccer in the Muggle world, everyone follow Qudditch. Played up in the air on broom sticks and there's four balls. Sorta hard ter explain the rules."

Firo sighed. That was a terrible explanation. He was certain that neither of them learned anything about the sport.

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" the boy asked. "School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but-" "I bet I'm in Hufflepuff." said the kid in an irritating, self depreciating way. "Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin." said the grounds keeper.

"Firo!" said Ennis quietly as he started over to them. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one." "Vol-, sorry, You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"One sec," said Firo Firmly. They both looked over to him as he walked over. "Don't you think that you're being biased. There were a few bad Slytherin so every Slytherin is bad. Does that mean the ministry should condemn every student that becomes a Slytherin. Maybe we should just have them executed as soon as we find out that they are in the Slytherin house because, obviously they're going to turn out bad, all of them right?"

Both the grounds keeper and Harry stepped back when he went on his little rant. He had even forgotten what he wanted to talking to the grounds keeper about about. He sighed and shook his head. "Look, all I'm staying is that you shouldn't judge them before you know anything about them." He was about to walk away when Harry said, "Are you from Slytherin then."

Firo smirked, "Nope, I didn't go to Hogwarts." Since the grounds keeper didn't recognize him, or the grounds keeper didn't want to tell Harry about it, Firo decided to leave them with that. He still had to find Czes and get his family home.  
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Czes still had a few things that he wanted to get before he left. He was certain that if he needed anything else, he could just come back and get it. He was carrying the supplies that he had bought earlier in a little bag, he really didn't need that much.

It was about lunch time when he entered Flourish and Blotts, so there weren't very many people there. He took his time walking along the selves. He did have certain potion book in mind that he was sure that this store carried, but he took his time and look around from something that might catch his eye.

He started looking at basic potion books in hopes that he could make his own potions. He had made his own potions before but he had believed that there was always something to learn.

While he was looking through all the books, a boy with platinum blond hair walked up beside him mumbling, "Magical drafts and Potions..." He was scanning through the shelves, pointing his finger at each title in turn. Czes had just found the book that he was looking for and pointed it out to him.

"Are you going to Hogwarts this year as well?" asked the boy. Czes thought about it for a moment. He had no reason to tell him the truth, it was just cause more problems. "Yeah, this is my first year." The boy nodded, "Mine as well. I know that I'm going to be in Slytherin, all my family has been." he puffed out his chest proudly. "I hope to go to Ravenclaw."

The boy looked at him like he was mad, "Why would you want that?" he asked. Czes had to think about it for a moment. "I don't really want to be on either side, Ravenclaw is fairly neutral, or so I've heard." He looked at the boy from the side and smirked, "besides, knowledge is power."

The boy looked a him critically, like he was trying to decide what he thought about him. Finally the boy faced him fully and held out his hand. "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." It was unlikely he would ever meet this boy again but he decided to keep his identity safe anyway, "John." he took Draco's hand.

John was an easy name to remember. It was the first time that John Bardeen, he had died earlier that year. He was an American physicist, electrical engineer and even the co-inventor of the transistor. Czes liked to keep up on people like that, or just anything to do with computers, it was just an odd hobby of his.

"Slytherin is clearly the best." Malfoy said proudly. "What do you think about them letting those mudbloods in?" he asked. Czeslaw guessed he was trying to see if they had enough in common to be friends. In all honest, he didn't really care where a witch or wizard came from. He never asked those that he talked to because, to him, it didn't matter at all.

"The Headmaster made his decision for a reason." he said. There was no point in making friends with this kid either. Malfoy glared at him, "My father says that Dumbledore is a fool." Czeslaw shrugged, "Whatever, I don't really know much about him and I don't care either." he picked the book he wanted and walked away.

He passed the Eeylops Owl Emporium and thought that he should probably get an owl for Ennis. Neither she or Firo owned one. Although, owning one in New York would be hard, especially with the New Salemers around. He guessed that if any of them met someone that owned an owl, they would do everything in their power to kill them.

He owned several owls in his life. He remembered his first owl, he loved him. His owl meant the world to him and when he got old and died it hurt. But after a while, things growing old and dying was just something that he accepted. Most owl's that are owned only lived for about 20 years at most.

Right now he had something else that he wanted to do first. He thought that he would go and buy one if he had time after he took care of all of his other business. They would be able to use the owl for a year and then at the end of the year they could either sell it or give it to some child that didn't have one. It would make Firo look really good in the eyes of the magically community. That would make it easier for them if they ever wanted to come back and do something later.

A little bell tingled as he walked into the Ollivanders shop. It looked no different from the first time he had been there; it was old then too. There was a layer of dust on everything, including the rows upon rows of boxes stacked in the back. The only difference now was that there were more boxes than before. He briefly wondered if Ollivander expanded the shop to make room.

He stood next a half giant who was sitting on a small chair by the door. He had seen half giants before but he never really talked or interacted with one. He had never had a reason to do so before.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." said the elderly man to a boy. Czeslaw didn't recognized the old man, he must be Gervaise's son, but he knew the boy as Harry Potter. He hadn't been here in almost 100 years, it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to talk to the same person as before. Human's aged too and there was nothing to stop it, other than turning immortal.

Ollivander noticed him in the corner, "Hello there, another first year. It's be just another moment." Potter and the half giant turned to him. Czeslaw shrugged his shoulders. "Take your time, I'm in no hurry."

Ollivander fluttered around the room, taking down different boxes for Potter to try. "Every Ollivander wand had a core of powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

Czeslaw found that this man was just as self promoting as his father was. He did have to admit that they were the best wands that he had ever seen. He actually owned a couple of different wands, all made by different wizards and his best was from Ollivander. Interestingly, not all of his wands were made out of the same materials.

"That will do," as he said this, the tape measure fell to the ground, lifeless. "Right then, Mr. Potter." he said, turning to Potter. "Try this one Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave." Potter took the wand, looking a bit nervous and waved it around a little it only to have Ollivander snatch it back quickly. It was pretty obvious that he didn't know anything about how to handle one, he was too nervous and stiff.

Ollivander handed him another wand, "Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try." Potter tried but it was taken from his just as quickly. He already had another wand in hand, "No, no. Here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out." Ollivander was starting go get excited.

Potter tried over and over again. Eventually Czeslaw walked over and sat next to the half giant. He looked over at Czeslaw but didn't say anything. He went back to watching Potter try. It was taking forever to find something that fit him.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere. I wonder, now. Yes, why not, unusual combination, holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Potter took the wand and there was a relieved look on his face. He flicked with wand and red and gold sparks shot from the end of it, shining off the walls.

The half giant whooped and clapped, cheering him on. "Oh bravo!" added Ollivander, "Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious..." He took the wand back and placed it in it's box before wrapping it in brown paper. The entire time he was muttering, "Curious... Curious..."

"Sorry," Harry said, "but what's curious?" Ollivander stared at him for a bit. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather, just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother, why, its brother gave you that scar."

Potter swallowed hard. "Yes," Ollivander continued, "thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things, terrible, yes, but great." Potter looked nervous but paid the gold for his wand and left the store.

Czeslaw thought that it was a little unfair for him to tell this to Potter. It wasn't really his place to judge, he just thought that it was a lot of pressure on him at a very early age.

"Alright then," Ollivander turned to him, when he but the money away. "hold out your wand arm." The tape measure came back to life. "Actually," Czeslaw held up one hand. "I didn't come here to get a new wand. I already have one, I need it repaired." He pulled out the wand that Gervaise had made for him. It was splintered at the end. He had damaged it about 15 years ago but didn't get around to haveing it fixed until now.

Ollivander took it gently in his hand and looked it over curiously. "This is quite an old wand. Where did you get it?" While Czeslaw didn't really like to tell people what he was, he needed to if he wanted his wand fixed. "It's mine. Gervaise made it for my many years ago." Ollivander looked shocked.

"My father has been dead for over 30 years." Ollivander said carefully. Czeslaw nodded, "I knew him. It was very sad when he left this world. He was early into his career when he made this for me but it has served me well." Ollivander looked at him curiously, but he seemed to accept what he said. "I'll fix this, but I need some time. Since I wasn't the one that made it, I'll need to look it over."

Czeslaw smiled at him, "Of course, that perfectly reasonable. What would be the best time for me to pick this up?" Ollivander thought about this for a moment, "A week should be enough for me." "That's fine." Czeslaw said before leaving the shop.

When he got outside he saw Firo and Ennis walking along the road. He decided he would call it a day, he could buy an owl on another day.

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Don't worry, Firo will have plenty of chances to interact with Malfoy later on. Also, Harry didn't destroy things with the wand in the books.


	6. The New School Year

Chapter 6 - The New School Year

The day after their trip to Diagon Alley, Firo went back up to the castle to set up for the upcoming year. Ennis decided to go into the Hogsmeade village and shop for things to make the cottage more comfortable. Czeslaw, on the other hand, busied himself with some sort of the studies. It was generally best to leave him alone when he was studying.

Firo stepped into his new classroom and looked around. The books and pencils had been left in his new office.

It was a plain room. Rows of tables with seats stood in front of a large desk in the front of the room. A huge chalk board covered the back wall. He had briefly seen this room the other day during his tour school.

The night before, Czes had prepared a potion for him. It basically worked like ink but there was ingredients that made it worked as a protection potion as well. He took off his shoes and cloak and set them on one of the tables. He rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, and drew his wand.

"Windguardian levigiosa" he said, as he flicked his wand. All of the tables lifted gently into the air and he moved them into the hall. He picked up a paint brush and started making a small alchemy circle in the middle of the room. He slowly expanded on it as well as creating smaller circles inside the bigger ones. They were mainly symbols of power, knowledge, and protection as well as some others.

This circles wouldn't do anything, they were just there for the students to look at. Normal these circles would be used for some sort of practice but he didn't plan to actually use any of these, except the protection one, but only if he thought that he really needed it. He was sure that at least one of the students would ask about it and then he would explain. It was also a good way to show that asking question was a very important part of learning. It might also peak their interest.

After a couple of hours, he was beginning to get tired. He was thinking about taking a break when one of the other teachers entered the room. He turned to see professor McGonagall was looking at all circles. "Hey," he said as he stood up.

He knew that he had ink all over him. That and that way that his hair had fallen in his face made him look even younger. There was nothing to do about that right now so he decided to ignore it.

"Hello professor Prochainezo." she greeted him, "I heard that you met Mr. Potter yesterday." Firo had to think about that for a moment. He had nearly forgotten about that incident. "Yeah," he said standing. He rubbed the back of his head, accidentally rubbing more ink into his hair. "I guess I was a little rude, sorry about that." McGonagall placed her hands in front of her. "I hadn't heard the details."

"Anyway," say continued, "I wanted to ask you what you thought." Firo looked at her quizzically for a moment. "You mean about the 11 year old getting ready for school? He looked like just another student to me." McGonagall seemed satisfied by this. "I was hoping that you wouldn't give him any favoritism." Firo smirked at her, "Don't worry, it looks like he'll get enough of that from others." McGonagall smiled sadly, "Sadly, I think that you're probably right."  
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Harry had managed a ride from his uncle, who was going to London anyway. His aunt and uncle were taking Dudley to the hospital to get the tail removed.

It was half past ten then they arrived at King's Cross station. Uncle Vernon put Harry's heavy trunk onto a cart and took it into the station for him. Harry thought that this was weirdly kind but when he stopped, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face Harry expected Uncle Vernon mock him. "Well, there you are, boy," he said, "Platform nine, platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"He was right, there was nothing there.

"Have a good term." Uncle Vernon said. All three of the Dursleys were laughing at him and he was starting to attract some unwanted attention. His mouth went dry, he didn't know what he was going to do.

He stopped a passing guard to ask for some help but he had never heard of Hogwarts and Harry didn't even know what part of the country the school was in. By the time that the guard walked away, Harry was starting to panic. He only had 10 minutes to get on the train before it left. If he could get on that train he was be stranded in the middle of London with a trunk he could barely lift, a pocket of wizard money, and an owl, not the ideal situation.

He figured that there was some secret that Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him. Something like tapping a certain brick to get in, like in Diagon Alley. As he was staring at platforms 9 and 10 he caught a couple of words for a group passing by, "-packed with Muggles, of course-"

Harry turned quickly to see a plump woman talking to 4 boys and a girl. All of they had flaming red hair and the group had an owl with them. His heart was hammering in his chest. He followed them, pushing his cart and stopped just close enough to eavesdrop. "Now, what's the platform number?" said the woman. "Nine and three-quarters!" said the girl. "Mom, can't I go..." She turned to the girl, "You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."

The oldest boy walked up to the platforms but just then a big group of tourists walked past and blocked his view. When they passed the boy was gone. "Fred, you next," said the woman. "I'm not Fred, I'm George. Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?" said the boy. "Sorry, George, dear." said the woman. "Only joking, I am Fred." he said, heading for the platforms, calling his twin.

Harry watched in awe as each one disappeared before his eyes. He had no idea how they were doing it.

When the third brother disappeared through the barrier he walked up to the woman. "Excuse me," he said to her. She looked over at him. "Hello, dear. First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too." She pointed at the youngest boy. He was tall, thin and gangling. He had freckles, big hangs and feet nose. "Yes. The thing is... the thing is, I don't know how to-" "How to get onto the platform". She finished for him. He nodded.

She looked very kind, "Not to worry. All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." "Er, OK." he said uncertainly.

He started pushing his trolley toward the barrier. It looked really solid, he was sure that he was going to smash into it. He closed his eyes and readied for the impact.  
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It was the final day before before the students arrived, they were going to be there that night. Firo looked around _his_ classroom with a very satisfied look. There was a large stack of papers sitting neatly on his desk. Behind the desk were stacks of hundreds of light blue books, he had more in his office but he thought that this would be fine for the first day. At each table there a pencil sitting at each place so each student could have one. The floor and walls were painted with alchemy symbols.

"I looks like a real alchemist's study." came a young voice for behind him. Czeslaw held a large scroll in his arms as he walked to the front. Firo grinned at him, "Thanks, what do you have there?" Czeslaw blushed and turned away, "I thought that it would help bring the classroom together." shoving it into his arms before turning and walking away.

Firo raised his hand and said, "Thanks." but Czeslaw was already gone. He unrolled it to find a chart of the periodic table of elements. Firo couldn't help but smile at the thoughtful gesture.

He went back to the village and kissed Ennis goodbye before going back to the castle. After noticing that he still had a lot of time to kill he decided to walk around the castle. He found that there was a lot more to this place than meets the eye. Within the first half hour of looking around the first floor, he found a tunnel that wasn't included in his tour. Of course they couldn't show him everything but this passage looked like it hadn't been used in a very long time. He took him time looking at everything and before he knew it, it was almost time for the students to start arriving.

He wanted to watch the train come in but Professor Dumbledore asked that he sit with the rest of the teachers in the Great Hall. After the students filed in there was a loud banging at the door. Professor McGonagall stood to answer the door.


	7. The Students Arrive or The Sorting Hat

Chapter 7 - The Students Arrive or The Sorting Hat

Firo peered over the table as McGonagall answered the door. He couldn't see the first years from where he was though but he could hear some of the students chattering.

He sighed and rested his chin in his hand. He knew that he was going to have to wait a while and he wasn't very happy about it. He looked down at the golden plate in front of him. It seemed like the school spared no expense.

After a few minutes she returned and set up the stool before leaving to get something else. While she was doing this there was a scream from the back room.

He was on feet the moment that he hear it. "Don't." professor Snape said quietly. Firo looked at him sharply. Snape shook his head slightly, "The ghosts are introducing themselves." Firo sat down slowly.

He hadn't talked with the ghosts very much during his time here but the few that he had talked to were pretty playful.

McGonagall returned with an old hat that she sat on the stool and a scroll under one arm. She passed by them quickly and returned to the hallway where the students where waiting. She returned immediately after with a line of children.

Once all the students were there, the seam on the hat opened and it started to sing. Firo stared at it with wide eyes.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, but don't judge on what you see. I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me. You can keep your bowlers black, your top hats sleep and tall, For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and I can cap them all. There's nothing hidden in your head the Sorting Hat can't see. So try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be." It wasn't the best song but Firo thought it was kinda caughty, "You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart. Their daring, nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart."

Firo started listening better, the hat was describing the qualities of the houses. While he knew a little about each house, he had to admit that he really didn't know all that much. "You might belong in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal. Those patient Hufflepuff are true and unafraid of toil. Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind, where those of wit and learning, will always find their kind. Or perhaps in Slytherin you'll make your real friends. Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends. So put me on! Don't be afriad! and Don't get in a flap! You're in safe hand, though I have none, for I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Firo cheered along with everyone else as the hat bowed to each of the tables. He had never heard a hat sing before.

McGonagall stepped in front of the stool with a scroll. "When I call you name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She faced the students, "Abbott, Hannah."

A girl with blonde pigtails stepped out from the middle of the line and nervously sat on the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on her head. It fell right over her eyes. There was silence for a few seconds before it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The table to the right cheered as she walked over to them and sat at that table. The Fat Friar ghost smiled and waved at her.

"Bones, Susan" "HUFFLEPUFF" "Boot, Terry" "RAVENCLAW" The table second from the left cheered for him and shook his hand when he got to them. "Brocklehurst, Mandy." "RAVENCLAW" "Brown, Lavender." "GRYFFINDOR" The table on the far left cheer loudly. "Bulstrode, Millicent" "SLYTHERIN" "Finch-Fletchley, Justin" "HUFFLEPUFF" "Finnigan, Seamus," a sandy haired boy took a little longer then the rest before the hat called, "GRYFFINDOR" "Granger, Hermione." She was a very eager girl, running up to the stool and pulled with hat over head. "GRYFFINDOR." Several other names where called but he had stopped paying attention.

Firo was starting go get bored with this. It was exciting at first but now this was getting a little dull. "Potter, Harry" There were a lot of whispering as he approached the stool. Instead of watching Harry, Firo opted to watch the rest of the student body. They were treating this kid like a celebrity, he just hoped it wouldn't go to his head.

The hat seemed to be taking it's time but when it finally spoke, it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR" A loud cheer erupted in the hall. Harry seemed to go a little weak in the knees but he also seemed revlieved at the same time, as he walked over to the Gryffindor table. The head boy egarly shook his hand before he sat down. "We got Potter! We got Potter!" a pair of red haired twins were yelling.

Firo yawned and glanced across his own table. Quirrell was just as nervous as he seemed in the tavern. The half giant was giving the kid thumbs up, Firo rolled his eyes at the favoritism. Dumbledore sat in a tall golden chair in the middle of the table, he looked like he was enjoying the situation.

He sighed in relief, there were only a couple of kids left. "Thomas, Dean" a tall black boy sat on the stool, "GRYFFINDOR" "Turpin, Lisa" a girl took her turn, "RAVENCLAW." "Weasely, Ron" A very pail kid with bright red hair stepped up nervously, "GRYFFINDOR" it called almost immediately. He jumped up and rushed over to the Gryffindor table. And finally the last kid was called, "Zabini, Blaise." "SLYTHERIN"

"Finally." Firo mumbled as McGonagall rolled up the scroll and took the hat and stool away. He received a dark look from the teacher sitting next to him but he ignored her. Once she was out of the way Dumbledore stood and walked forward with his arms wide open.

"Welcome" his voice boomed through the hall, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

As he sat back down everyone clapped and cheered. Firo wondered if he was trying to make himself sound funny or crazy but either way he succeeded. The students seemed to enjoy him anyway.

Food appeared on the tables. There was everything that he could imagine. "Neat." said Firo, filling his plate.  
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Harry was his plate filling to the brim with all kinds of things when he met a ghost who commented on how good the food looked. When Harry asked him if he wanted some but he replied, "I haven't eaten for nearly 500 years. I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

Ron raised his head, " I know who you are!" he shouted, "My brothers told me about you, you're Nearly Headless Nick!" The ghost frowned at him, "I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-" Seamus interrupted, "Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?" Sir Nicholas seen unhappy about the way the conversation was going.

He grabbed his left ear, "like this," he said as he pulled. His head fell onto his shoulders, just barely attached to his neck. He looked like someone tried to behead him but they didn't quiet finish the job. He looked a lot more pleased at the faces of the stunned students. He returned his head to the right position. "So, new Gryffindors!" he changed the subject, "I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year. Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable. He's the Slytherin ghost."

The Baron, who was gaunt with blank eyes and covered in sliver blood, was sitting next to Malfoy, who didn't look all that happy about it. "How did he get covered in blood?" Seamus asked. Nearly Headless Nick shook his head, "I've never asked."

Eventually the conversation turned to people's family's. "I'm half and half." said Seamus. "My dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him." The people around him laughed. Ron looked over at Neville. "What about you, Neville?"

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch." He started, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me. He pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned, but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came around for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced, all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here. They thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."  
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Firo enjoyed his food but he couldn't help but think about how Ennis and Czes were doing. The other teachers seemed to be talking about the upcoming classes. He had to admit that he was a little nervous about the class but he had planned this all out before. He was certain that he had everything put together and, as long as he followed his lesson plan, everything should go well.

"You look a bit nervous." Sprout leaned over to speak with him. Firo smiled, "I guess I am a little. I've never taught before." She reached over and patted his hand, "Don't worry dear, as long as you make sure the students know who is the teacher." Firo raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't mean scare them or anything. Just make sure they know who's boss." She winked at him.

He ended up talking to her for a while. Finally, when all the dessert disappeared Dumbledore stood again. He cleared his throat, "Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would so well to remember that as well."

Firo noticed he glanced at the red haired twins that had been making all that ruckus earlier. He guessed that they were either going to be really fun or a lot of trouble this year. Now that he was a teacher, he would have to keep an eye on them.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors." Headmaster Dumbledore continued, "Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this your, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Firo heard a few scattered laughed, but not very many people thought that it was very funny. He remembered during his tour of the school, he was shown where the corridor was they didn't go there. He didn't ask why, but figure that it was because there wasn't anything interesting there. Clearly he was wrong.

"And now," Headmaster Dumbledore sounded like he was finishing up, "before we go to bed, let us sing the school song." The other teachers seemed to be pretty happy about this. Firo didn't really want to sing. This school seems to like music a lot.

Headmaster Dumbledore flicked his wand and it looked like a golden ribbon rolled out of the end. The ribbon floated high in the room, above all of the tables, and twisted to make the words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune and off we go!" Headmaster Dumbledore said happily. The rest of the school started singing very loudly while the Headmaster conducted the whole school with his wand, "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts. Teach us something please, whether we be old and bald or young with scabby knees. Our heads could do with filling with some interesting stuff. For now they're bare and full of air, dead flies and bits of fluff. So teach us things worth knowing. Bring back what we've forgot, just do your best, we'll do the rest and learn until our brains all rot."

The song was weird and out of tune and everyone seemed to finished at different times. The twins were the last to stop singing. The Headmaster was the one that seemed to clap the loudest. He seemed on almost the verge of tears. "Ah, music," he wiped the mist from his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Firo watched as the students separate into different groups and go to their dorms. The Headmaster walked up to him as the other teachers moved to their own rooms as well. "You seem rather tired as well." he commented. Firo leaned back, "Yeah, I suppose. Hey, can I ask a question?" The Headmaster nodded and smiled at him before sitting down next to him. Firo once again noticed the mysterious look in his eye.

"What is it that you needed to ask?" "The third floor," Firo started, his curiosity was getting the better of him. "what's up there?" The Headmaster slowly stroked his bread. "It is a very dangerous trap." He said in a surprisingly straight-forward way. "My question is why would you phrase it like that? Surely you know some curious kid is going to try and sneak up there?" "Perhaps," said the Headmaster, "I have faith in my students."

Firo looked at him for a moment before waving him off, "Whatever, I have to go to bed." He didn't really like answer that he was given but didn't really see any point in arguing with him. Besides that, he really needed to rested and prepared for tomorrow.


	8. First Lesson or The Potions Master

THE POTIONS MASTER

Chapter 8 - First Lesson or The Potions Master

Firo woke up earlier than normal. He walked to the window and looked out across the courtyard. It really was a beautiful school. He frowned as he looked across his room. The clothes that he had left on the floor the night before were now folded and sat neatly on the dresser. That meant that someone was in the room while he was sleeping.

He knew that it was most likely one of the house elves. He hadn't met one from this school yet but the ones that he had met before seemed to be pretty cool. But, at the same time, he didn't like the idea of someone being in the room while he was sleeping. He would have to find a way to talk with them. It wasn't like he really needed anyone to clean up after him, after all, he was an adult.

He yawned, stretched and got up to get dressed. It was weird to wear a robe but he was a teacher and he needed to dress like one. He had some time to kill in the morning so he had planned to explore a little.

He left the room and walked to the stair cases. There were 142 stair cases and they were all different, some were wide, others narrow and some rickety. There were some that led different places on different days of the week. The doors were just as annoying. A lot of them required tricks to open. He stood on one of the stair cases as it was moving across the hall.

He needed to go down a few floors to get the Great Hall and this was going to slow. Watching the others move below him, he got an idea. He slowly walked over to the railing, sat up on it, and tipped over the side. Luckily, his timing was right and he landed on the stair case below him with a thud. It hurt for a moment but he got right back up. Vaguely, he wondered if he actually broke anything but it didn't really matter.

"What are you doing?" came a deep, chilling voice. Firo looked up to find the potions teacher. "Good morning." he said, standing up and brushing himself off. Snape gave him an annoyed look. Firo leaned against the railing and returned with a cool look. "Stairs are going pretty slow and I wanted to see if I could get down a little faster."

Snape sneered at him. He looked away to watch some of the people in the portraits move around to talk with one another. "If any of the students saw you do something so stupid-" "But they didn't." Firo interrupted him. 'If looks could kill...' Firo thought as he glanced at his face. It was pretty obvious that Snape didn't like him from the beginning.

"Look," Firo stated firmly, "I still don't know this school very well. I'm going to explore while I have some free time." Snape's eyes narrowed, "I hope that you're ready from your _first_ class." "Yeah," Firo matched his intensity, "I'm ready."

As he moved down the halls he could hear the students talk about Potter. He was getting a lot of attention. It seemed like he had already made a friend. Good for him.

On his way to the Great Hall Peeves the Poltergeist tried to pull the carpet from under his feet. The moment he felt something, Firo jumped to the side. Peeves pulled too hard and ended flying though the opposite wall. When he flew back through Firo smiled at him, "Looks like I got you this time." Peeves crossed his arms and floated upside down, "You're a tricky one. I'll just have to try harder." Firo laughed at him. "I'm looking forward to it."

He walked away laughing when he crossed paths with an old, scrawny, dust colored cat. It honestly looked like some stray, alley cat but he knew that he belonged to the schools caretaker. He had forgotten it's name though.

It gave him a long look like it was trying to figure something out. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Filch came around the corner. "Oh," he seemed out of breath. "I thought it was a student. I didn't realize it was you..er ahem.. Professor."

Firo was slightly irritated already by Snape. Filch didn't seem to think that he was a real teacher either. "Good morning." Firo greeted him. "Yeah, 'morning." He picked up his cat and left quickly.

He didn't really eat much for breakfast and was too nervous to stay in the Great Hall for very long. He was in his class about an hour before it was time to start his class. He read and reread his lesson plan. He had to put that down. He was making himself more nervous and he needed to just take a deep breath.

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Harry found out the hard way that magic was more difficult than just waving your wand around. There were so many different types of classes from Herbology to Transfiguration, and they were all at different times and places that were most suited for the subject. He even had Astronomy class every Wedsday at midnight.

His first class was Herbology. It was taught by a short little witch named Professor Sprout. The class was all about strange plants and fungi and their uses. And then there was History of Magic. It was the only class taught by a ghost, Professor Binns. It was the most boring class in school. He just droned on and on.

The story he had heard about him was that he was an old teacher and had fallen asleep in the staff room. The next morning he had gotten up and left his body behind. It was such a strange story but it seemed like _anything_ could happen in a magic school.

Professor Flitwick was the Charms teacher. He was so short that he had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. When he was doing roll call that morning he fell onto the floor because he was so surprised to have Harry Potter in his class. It was only the middle of the week and he already seemed a little overwhelmed.

It was fairly early in the day when he arrived in Alchemy class. Along the back wall were uneven stacks of books. The floor and walls had weird symbols all over them and there was a poster on the wall of the Periodic Table of Elements. The teacher looked really young, like he had just graduated the year before. It took Harry a moment to realize where he had seen him before. He was the nosy guy in Diagon Alley.

There was a click pen on the table in front of everyone's seat. "What is this?" said Ron, picking the pen up. A lot of the other students seemed very interested in the pens as well.

"Good morning, I'm Professor Prochainezo." said the young professor, he had an American accent. "You've noticed the pens. They're there because pens are easier to use than quills. I'm sure that some of you are more used to using these." Harry was sure that he was talking about Muggle born students.

"Each of you were told to bring a blank book. This is going to be your very own Alchemy book, one that you are going to create. I'm not going to tell you what to put in it, you write down whatever you find important." he stated.

He looked over the entire class as they pulled out their notebooks. "This is stupid. Why couldn't he just give us text books." Harry heard Ron murmur under his breath. Professor Prochainezo walked over to him. He put his hands on the table and leaned close to Ron's face, "Because I am your teacher and I told you to. You are going to sit here and listen. It was pretty stupid to draw attention to yourself on the first day because I don't put up with little shits smarting off in my class."

Ron paled at the interaction, Professor Prochainezo was kind of scary. He started to walk to his desk again, "Questions are how we discover new things. Questioning others as well as questioning ourselves." He turned to face them all, "I have a question now. In the most simple way, explain to me what Alchemy is."

A couple of hands came up, Hermione's included. Professor Prochainezo looked over the class, lingering on Hermione for a moment before choosing someone else. A small blond boy who looked a bit uncertain. "Can you answer the question please?" Hermione looked slightly disappointed.

"Um, well," he stuttered. "it's a really old magic that, uh, also used magic and science to do transmutations and make people immortal." Professor Prochainezo leaned against his desk with his arms crossed. "That's basically true." he said. "It is a science that uses magic as a medium to do transmutation that is normally impossible." The scratching of pens could be heard throughout the classroom. "That is only one of the goals. Another is to create a universal cure for all diseases and to create a means for living forever."

There was a murmur throughout the classroom. He had catch a lot of peoples attention, including Harry and Ron's.

He started walked around the room again. "But that's only half of it. It is one of the few subjects that no-mage, I mean muggles used to practice as well. In fact, muggles stopped practicing about the same time as wizards. Because of this, Alchemy has become split into two main factions. It might not be popular but I think that you should look at both sides, because both sides have something to offer."

"As wizards you all have an amazing opportunity." he slowly made his way back to his desk in the front of the room. "You can look at the wizarding world and muggle world at the same time. You can use your wand and computer at the same time. It's really amazing." It seemed like the last part he said to himself.

He went back to the room and pick up a stack of books and started handed them out. When he was finished he addressed the room again, "So, what we are going to do is start with the Muggle version of Alchemy." There was a murmur throughout the classroom. "You need to know the basics of science before you can know anything about Alchemy and Muggles have made this easier to study then Wizards. We should be able to get through this chapter fairly quickly and then we'll go over how this applies to magic."

Malfoy leaned over to one of his friends and said, "When my father hears that we are studying like Muggles this teacher will be out of here so fast his head will be spinning." "He's probably not even a real teacher." said his friend.

Professor Prochainezo sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really didn't want to punish any students on the first day but you are making this really difficult. Threatening a teacher is an incredibly stupid thing to do. Especially when you have to go through daddy to do it. This is the first day, and I'm going to go easy but it anything is said like this again," he looked across the room for a moment. "You'll have a detention from me. You _won't_ get another warning." He started walking to Malfoy, "I guarantee you won't like detention with me. I won't be as nice from now on." He turned to face the rest of the class, "That goes for everyone. Skim over the first chapter tonight, you don't have to read through it just look over it, class dismissed."

Ron and Harry were quiet as they walked out of the class room and into the halls. "That was weird." said Ron. Harry agreed, "I had met him before coming to school but I didn't know he was a teacher." "Really? When?" Ron asked. Harry crossed his arms as they stepped onto the stairs, "It was in Diagon Alley. I was shopping with Hagrid for supplies and he was explaining how bad the Slytherin house was when Professor Prochainezo stepped in and said that we said I shouldn't judge the houses before seeing them for myself."

"But Hagrid wasn't wrong." said Ron. "Yeah, I don't think that Professor Prochainezo went to school here," said Harry. "Let's go before we are late for Transfiguration."

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Firo rested his head on his arms on Friday morning. It had been an irritating week. He had expected some of the students to cause a little trouble but there were more then he bargained for. He wondered if he should be a little meaner or something.

The fluttering of wings alerted him that the mail had arrived. Ennis had written him several times this week and, of course, he wrote her back so he expected one of the normal owls from the village's postal office. He didn't lift his head, he was too tired. "It looks like you got some mail." said a woman's voice. He looked up to see a tiny owl that he had never met was flitting around on the table in front of him. Sometime this morning Madam Hooch had come over and sat next to him.

"Thanks," he said dismissively. It was a letter written in Ennis' neat handwriting. There was two sheets of paper in the envelope. He started reading.

 _'Dear Firo,_

 _I miss you and I hope that you can come over this weekend. There has been talk about the students coming down to the village soon. Do you know what that's about? A lot of people in the village are pretty excited about it. There is going to be some sort of celebration the week before to prepare for them, mostly for the businesses getting ready but it seems like the village has a lot of fun with it. You should come, it sounds like fun._

 _Czeslaw had gone to Diagon Alley this week and came back with this owl. He said that he wanted to buy a bigger one but ended up with this one. He sounded a little embarrassed but I think its cute, just his size. Oh, don't tell him I said that. I've been talking to Maiza lately and he said that he would like to come over and see the new place. It would be nice if we could all have some dinner together._

 _~Yours always, Ennis.'_

Firo smiled at he read the letter and was already thinking about what he would write back to her. Her letter only took up one sheet of paper. The next one was from Czes. His writing was small and pushed together, so it was a little hard to read and he had to squint a little to read it.

 _'Firo,_

 _I'm going to get right to the point, I'm bored here. I can't just go off and do what I need to without resistance here. Wizards are much noisier than Muggles and adjusting isn't as easy in a village like this. I'm not saying that I can't hadn't it but I do have a request. Since there are no classes on the weekends, I was hoping that you could talk to the headmaster about me borrowing books on the weekends. Never mind if you don't want to, I don't care._

 _Czeslaw._

It was short and to the point. Czes didn't really write to him very often, he probably _really_ wanted to borrow from the library. He wanted to pretend he didn't care but it was obvious that he really did. He would have to make sure to talk to the Headmaster today. He would write to him after breakfast.

"Oh," said Madam Hooch teasingly, "a love letter?" Firo smiled at her, "Kinda. One is from my little brother and the other is from my wife." It was always funny to see how people reacted when he told them he was married. "You married pretty young, didn't you?" She asked with a slightly concerned look that she tried to hide. "I'm older than I look." he tried to play it off.

Since Dumbledore was still busy even after he had finished his classes he decided to talk with someone else in the meantime. He wrote a quick note, saying that he wanted to speak with him that evening before leaving the Great Hall.

He had only spoken to the groundskeeper once since the beginning of school and that was at Diagon alley. He was kinda rude to him and thought it would be a good idea to make nice. The fewer enemies he had, the better.

As he made his way down to the grounds he passed several of his students either in their way to or from Care of Magical Creatures class. Some of them greeted smiled or waved at him and he smiled at them. He looked over at the small cottage on the edge of the forest, he could see the edge of a pumpkin patch around the corner.

With a deep sigh he walked up the the cabin and gave the heavy wooden door a couple of hard knocks. He waited for him to answer but none came.

Deciding that he wasn't home, Firo started to leave when he heard a deep voice behind him. "Is there somein' you need professor?"

Firo turned to see the half giant coming through the tree line. He had what looked like the bodies of dead ferrets ties around his body, like he had just finished killing them. Probably to feed some larger animal that lived within the castle. By his side was a large hound dog.

Firo rubbed the back of his head, "I actually wanted to talk with for a moment, if your not busy." Hagrid wasn't fond of him, that was obvious, but he did try to hide it.

Hagrid walked to his door and motioned with his huge hand as he passed Firo. "Come in."

Cozy. That was the word that Firo would use to describe Hagrid's home. Hagrid put the ferrets down in the corner and went over to the stove. Firo watched as the hound setled himself by the fireplace. He had imagined that everything in Hagrid's house would be scaled up for him be it was not. It was actually a little silly to watch him make tea for the both of them with a normal sized teapot, it looked so small in his hands.

Of course he didn't laugh, he kept his composure. Hagrid was being very kind for someone who didn't really like him very much. Probably just because he was a teacher.

Firo sat at the table, "Hey, I wanted to apologise for the way I acted the first time we met." Hagrid turned to look at him however Firo had turned to look out the window and didn'tsee this. Hagrid smiled at him and placed the tea on the table. "Its alright, I was just trying to teach 'arry a bit 'bout the school."

Firo gave him a small smile in return, he didn't agree with what he was trying to teach but thought it best if he didn't say that out loud.

He picked up the tea that he had been offered and took a sip. It was too hot but he pretended that it wasn't. "So," he started the conversation as Hagid placed some hard looking cakes in front of him. "are those for some animal on the school grounds?" He gestured to the corner. Hagrid's eyes brightened at the subject. "I was gettin' some treats for the hippogriffs." he said proudly.

Firo looked at him curiously. He knew what hippogriffs were but it just seemed odd to him that Hagrid was taking care of them. "Isn't that the job of professor Kettleburn? Why are you stuck with that job?" Hagrid laughed. "I'm not stuck with the job. I like takin' care of the creatures 'round here."

Firo smile slyly and leaned an arm on the table. "Have you talked to Dumbledore about that position? I'm sure you know plenty out the animals- er, I mean creatures around here." Hagrid gave him a strange look, "I don't think I could be a teacher." he said in a quieter tone. Firo rested a hand on his chin, "I didn't either. But, you know, even though its kinda hard at first, if you know the subject you can really get into it."

Hagrid looked invested in what he was saying but Firo shrugged his shoulders, "Just some food for thought. " before trying to take bite out of the cake.

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Hermione was rather excited about her first potions class on Friday. She had read the books and felt like she was ready for this.

She was one of the first students to arrive in the dungeons. The air was cooler down here. Almost everyone else that was there were from the Slytherin house.

Dispite still being the first week of school, she had already had a couple of nasty interactions with the Slytherins. At she was walking into the classroom she tried to ignore the nasty looks that she was receiving. While she was concentrating on that someone tried to trip her.

She didn't fall, she just stumbled a little, but she could hear them laughing. She looked up at the teacher, thinking he would do something but he didn't. He just ignored the entire interaction.

Professor Snape had a sort of bored voice as he did rollcall. In the middle he paused for a second. "Ah, yes. Harry Potter. Our new...celebrity."

Hermione didn't know him. Of course she had heard of him but their interactions had been very brief. She didn't think that she would want to get involved with a celebrity any way.

She heard some of the Slytherin boys laughing behind their hands at the whole thing. It wasn't very professional of professor Snape to allow this. He was starting to leave a bad impression.

When he was finished with rollcall he gazed over the class with a dark, mysterious look. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking."

His voice was quiet but it was enough. There was something so captivating about the way that he spoke. It wasn't just her either. The entire class seemed to listening intently to what he was going to say next.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic." Hermione silently guaranteed him that she would believe it. "I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power pf liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses." He paused and let his eyes sweep through the classroom. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper on death." Hermione was on the edge of her seat, thinking about potions like that might entail. "If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually teach."

A short silence followed his speech. "Potter!" He said suddenly, more loudly than before, "What would I get if I added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry looked confused but she just read about this. She raised her hand high into the air. If he couldn't answer than she could.

However, professor Snape ignored her. "I don't know, sir." said Harry. She watched as Professor Snape sneered at him. "Tut, tut. Fame clearly isn't everything." Professor Snape continued to ignore her in favor of Harry.

"Let's try again." Professor Snape's face was still a nasty snarl. "Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bozoar?" Hermione reached at high as she could, hoping that he would stop ignoring her. She knew the answer.

She could hear some of the Slytherin boys laughing at him. Still, the Professor did nothing to stop them.

Harry looked confused, and a little flustered. "I don't know, her." Professor Snape looked superior for a moment. "thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" She was glad that she had read through her books before coming here. "What is the difference, Potter between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

She knew and still had her hand high in the air. He ignored her still.

"I don't know." Harry practically whispered. "I think Hermione does though. Why don't you try her?" She was grateful that he would point her out like that. However, several other people in the room were still snickering.

Professor Snape turned to her, "Sit down." he snapped at her. He turned back to Harry, "For your information, Potter, aspodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save yoy from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite." He looked at him impatiently, "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

She had been listening to his speach so intently that she didnt think to start taking notes. It seemed like she wasnt the only one either. All around her, she could hear the scratching of quills.

"And," Professor Snape continued, "a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

Nothing improved as the lesson went on. Professor Snape was just as unfair and he kept picking on Harry for no reason at all.

Sometime during the lesson, a boy named Neville that she had met on the train, made a mistake and his cauldron exploded. Several students around him had to be taken to Madam Pomfey. Professor Snape even found a way to blame Harry for this.

By the end of the lesson, Hermione decided that even though this was an interesting subject, it was her least favorite.

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Firo had ended up staying at Hagrid's cottage longer than he expected. He actually liked him more than he thought he would. Even Fang, the big hound, was starting to warm up to him. They spent a lot of time talking about the break in at the bank. And they even talked about Potter a little.

If Hagrid still had suspicions about him, Firo couldn't tell. It was good to talk to an adult that didn't see him as a kid.

As he way waving goodbye he passed by Potter and his friend. Hagrid had mentioned that he had invited Potter over that evening. He smiled and waved at them as he passed by.

Now it was time to talk with Dumbledore.

Most of the students he passed along way were enjoying their first time off since school started. The younger ones were exploring the ground while many of the older ones already knew their way around and spent their time lounging around in the courtyard.

Firo walked up to the gargoyle that guarded the stairs to Dumbledore's office. Each of the teachers were giving the password that would open the stairway at the beginning of the year. Then again when they suspected one of the students found out and again, without any particular reason. The password was always some name of candy or dessert. He figured that Dumbledore made the passwords, the guy really liked sweets.

"Chocolate frog" Firo said. As the gargoyle jumped out of the way he stepped on the stairs just as they started moving. As he was traveling up the stairs he was thinking about his next lesson. He had already written up lesson from most of the chapters but he didn't really need to get that involved with science part of this for the first years and so he could just skim through the book to give them a general understanding before moving on to the magic part. In fact, he couldn't really introduce magic into the lessons until he cover the basics anyway.

When he came to the top of the stairs, he knocked on the door and waited for a response. He didn't have to wait long for an answer. Dumbledore had a soft but powerful voice. Everything about him was completely full of mystery. Firo had met some strange people in his life and learned that people like that were generally bad news. People like that always seemed at have some sort of plan up their sleeves. Dumbledore hadn't given him any reason to doubt him, and so Firo wasn't going to treat him with any suspicion for now.

The room was filled with the dying sun light. The phoenix shifted nervously on his perch as Firo walked passed him. Someone, he can't remember who, had once told him that phoenix's didn't like immortals, phoenix's thought that they were unnatural. Well, it was true, immortals were as unnatural as they come.

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, smiling innocently at him. He had been tinkering with something but Firo couldn't recognize what it was. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked. He had an almost amused tone.

Firo slouched in his seat, making himself look at relaxed at he could. Something about the way he spoke made Firo want to act tougher, it was silly and he knew it. It didn't stop him from acting that way though. "Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor." he started.

Dumbledore looked interested, with an eyebrow raised, but he didn't say anything. "My little brother isn't old enough to start school yet but he is really interested in the library. I wanted to know if he could borrow some books on the weekend, you know, when there are no classes?" Dumbledore frowned slightly as he responded, "I can't allow any books to leave the school grounds unless they are borrowed by a student."

Firo was slightly disappointed but not surprised. Dumbledore leaned forward on his elbows and smiled mysteriously, "Although I could make an acceptation. If you were to accompany him, he could read some on the books in the library." Firo's broke into a smile, "I'm sure that he'll be really grateful for that and I can grade papers in the library while he reads. Thank you"

"Is there anything else you need?" Dumbledore asked kindly. Firo smirked, "No, I've got everything I need. Thanks for your time."


	9. Secrets in the school or The MIdnight Du

Chapter 9 - Secrets in the School or The Midnight Duel

Czeslaw could hardly believe it when Firo wrote to him saying that the headmaster would allow him to visit as long as Firo was with him. This meant that he would have to look over Firo's schedule to find out when he could go. He wasn't going to miss an opportunity like this. It seemed he only had a couple of classes on Tuedays and Thursdays, and Fridays and he was free on the weekends.

He couldn't make it on Tuesday, much to his disappointment, because Ennis had offered to do something dumb for a woman in town and he felt bad for leaving her alone with all that work. Baking with magic was easy, and sometimes a little fun, but it could be annoying if you wanted do be somewhere else.

So he ended up going on Thursday. He left the house about noon. He bite his lip on the walk up to the castle. When he got to the doors he was a little unsure of what to do so he knocked on the heavy doors. He was certain that no one was going to hear him but minutes later the door opened. In front of him stood a tall, strict looking woman. "May I help you?" She asked. Czeslaw stood tall and said, "I'm here to see my brother, Professor Prochainezo." "Follow me." she looked a little confused at the statement but motioned him inside.

As she led him up the stairs he wanted to look all around the castle. There was some beautiful architecture here but she was walking quickly and he didn't have the time to see what he wanted. While they were walking she introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and, to save any confusion later on, he used his real name.

They came to a gargoyle and she called out the name of a sweet. It jumped out of the way and the a set of spiral stairs started moving upward. He assumed that he was being taken to the principal's office.

"I'm not sure were your brother is at the moment." she addressed him as they moved upward. "I'm going to ask you to stay in the Headmaster's office while I locate him." "That's fine." Czeslaw answered. "I'm thankful for help." She looked down at him and smiled.

The office was beautiful and spacious. There was a phoenix in the corner that he ignored but what interested him the most was the devices sitting behind the Headmaster. He recognized some of them as rare instruments, some he had used in the past and others he had just read about, but there were others that he knew nothing about.

"Hello again, Czes." the Dumbledore greeted him. McGonagal took this opportunity to excuse herself. Czeslaw put on his best smile and clasped his hands behind his back. "Hello again Headmaster." He returned. "I am very grateful that you are allowing to use your library." Dumbledore had a smile that he didn't really like. He was the type of person that Czeslaw couldn't control and that made him dangerous. He didn't really want to say in this room alone with him for very long. "I am happy to see someone as young as yourself so ready to learn and I am honored to help you in your quest to knowledge."

'Quest for knowledge'...that was a really familiar phrase. One that had led to immortality for a group of curious travelers long ago.

Czeslaw sat across from him and pointed to one of the device that he already knew about and said, "What's that?" Dumbledore glanced behind him and picked up a small bronze device. It had a couple of knobs on it and what looked like a magnifying glass mounted on the center. "This is a device called Sagtail's Glass. Can you guess what it does?" Czeslaw considered lying for a moment but decided to tell him the correct answer. "It allows you to see things that would normally be invisible, even if they're hiding by magic."

He couldn't help smirking at the Headmaster's suprised face. Dumbledore smiled quickly and asked, "How did you know that?" Czeslaw raised his shoulders slightly, "A guess. " he lied. "What else could the glass be for?"

It felt like Dumbledore was trying to figure out whether or not he was lying when Firo entered the room. "Ah, Professor!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Your brother and I were just having an interesting conversation about this." He presented the device but Czeslaw didn't think that Firo would know what it was. "Thats cool. you'll have to show me what that is later. "

Firo led him down the halls and around stair cases, explaining what everything was. Czeslaw was grateful that he allowed him enough time to take everything in. It seemed that Firo was excited about this place as he was.

Secretly he was a little jealous that Firo was a teacher here. Well, something like that was probably never an option for him but it was kind of fun to image. Being able to go anywhere you wanted in the school. You would have access to everything. Firo wasn't even taking advantage of it.

Firo was practically glowing with delight as he swung open the doors to the library. Czeslaw didn't mean to but he ended up just staring in awe. "Where do you want to start?" Firo asked.

Czeslaw looked up at him to thank him but before either of them had a chance to speak the woman from behind the desk walked up to them. "Hello, Madam Prince." Firo greeted her. She pinched her lips together, "Hello Professor Prochainezo. Please don't slam my doors open."

Firo looked a little sheepish at that and said a quick apology before scooting off to the other side of the library under her watchful eye.

While Czeslaw was exploring this vast room, Firo had busied himself with some of the scrolls he had brought with him. He assumed that he was grading papers or something but that didn't matter. There was so much here he wasn't sure where to begin.

For a while they sat there in silence, the only sound between them was three scratching of Firo's pen and the turning of pages.

After some time Firo looked up suddenly. "Let's go outside. "Czeslaw didn't want to but thought that Firo was getting a little restless sitting in here. He would have been more than happy to stay here without him but, since he wasn't a student, he had to stay with a teacher at all times. "sure. "

They gathered up all the book and papers, Firo carrying most of it, and went to talk to the librarian. After checking out the books they headed out to the lake. Madam Prince told them that, while Firo was allowed to check out as many books as he liked, Czeslaw wasn't allowed to take any home. He decided to take as many notes as he could while he was here.

They found a quiet spot under some trees to open their books and pick up where they left off. It hadn't been five minutes when they heard some distant shouting. "What's that? " Firo said, raising his head. Czeslaw didn't take his eyes off the page. "Sounds like something we shouldn't get involved in."

Firo ignored him, of course, and got to his feet to see what he could stick his nose in. Czeslaw just watched as he took off in a run, toward the sound of yelling. This was a situation that didn't require him so he opted to stay were he was.

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Firo arrived at the Quidditch field just as Potter was about to do a nose dive into the ground on a broom. He thought he should do something and started running towards him. Somehow, it didn't occure to him to use his wand.

It didn't matter anyway. potter corrected himself just before he hit the ground. Something was sparlking in his hand, he probably just caught it. As impressiveas that was it was far too dangerous to be allowed. If he weren't a teacher he probably would have slapped him on the back but as he was, he couldn't act like that.

However, before he could say anything to him Professor Mcgonagall was running toward him. "Harry Potter!" she shouted.

The excited drained from Potter's face as she approached him. She looked as shocked as Firo was impressed. "Never, in all my time at Hogwarts -" she was still trying find the right words. "-how dare you..might have broken your neck...-"

His housemates were eager to suppprt him though. Even Firo wanted to point out how cool that was. "It wasnt his fault, Professor-" said a girl. "Be quiet, miss Patil-" "But Malfoy-" said said a boy. "That's enough, Mr. Weasley." she snapped. "Potter follow me, now. "

As they were leaving Firo saw Malfoy smirking at him. He watched Potter and Mcgonagall dissapeared through the doorway before doing anything. He sighed loudly and slowly walked over to Malfoy. "That wasnt very nice, you know." The kid snalred at him. "I don't know what youre talking about." Firo smiled slyly, "you'd be surprised where a little kindness can get you. or," he turned away amd raised one finger into the air, "what you can lose by being rude to the wrong person. I'm just saying, youre not taking advantage of everything you can."

He meant to walk away after that but someone stopped him "Um, Professor? " he turned to face her. "Yes, miss Granger?" She bit her lip in worry, "Are you telling Malfoy to take adventage of people?" He crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, "Yes and no. Its always in your beat interest to take advantage of situations, especially if they don't hurt any one else. In fact, a useful relationship with someone is one where you can use each other. I dont find anything wrong with that as long as you give something in return."

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Peeves floated high above the grass, looking for something to do. Thise icky wizards made him leave- no that didnt _make_ him leave. He left because...he was bored. Yes, thats why.

But now he was still bored. That was when he happened to caught sight of a itty bitty wizard by the lake.

He swooped down by him and grabbed the book from his hands, holding it just out of reach. He thought it would be fun to watch this one jump and try to get it, he never would. Ah! He could throw it in the girls room and see him embarrassed! Oh, this was fun.

"You will return that to me _now!"_ The itty bitty wizard said. He looked down at him to mock him but something was weird. He looked itty bitty but his eyes were something else. Or maybe it was his soul- no, well something like that, he didn't know the right word. Anyway, it was giving him the hebbie jebbies.

"Come get it" he said, flying out of sight. He was going to hide this where that one would never find it. The itty bitty wizard didn't move from his spot, he just glared at him as he flew away.  
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Fred and George nearly skipped down the hall on the way to dinner. Wood had just finished telling them that the famous Harry Potter was going to be on their team. They didn't really care about him being famous but the Slytherin team was going to be jealous. Wood made the whole team promise that they weren't going to tell anyone because he wanted to revile him as a surprise later. It was a lucky thing that their brother was already good friends with him.

They spotted him immediately when they entered the hall and hurried over to him. George went over to his left side and Fred his right. George leaned in close, "Well done," he said quietly. "Wood told us. We're on the team too, Beaters." "I tell you," Fred continued, "we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year. We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school." George informed him. "Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you." Fred said.

As they were walking away they saw that brat, Malfoy approach Harry and Ron. "Hope he'll end up teaching that little brat a lesson." Fred said under his breath. George nodded, "Maybe that could ask us for a little...advice." They both laughed at the thought of what they could do to him.  
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After Firo bid Czeslaw goodbye, he returned to his spot by the lake. It was a comfortable spot to finish his paperwork. He actually thought that designing lessons for a bunch of kids was going to be a lot harder than it was, it was pretty fun to be honest. He was pretty good a being a teacher.

Czeslaw was embarrassed when he told him that he had lost one of the book. He explained that 'a ghost' took the book and flew away with it. Firo knew exactly who he was talking about. He hated to admit it but Czes was a good target for him. He was so small and easy to pick on and he was certain that Peeves picked up on that immediately.

He was still out there when the sun began to set so he packed up all his books and papers and headed back inside. He took all his things into the his office and set everything to the on the desk. He needed to find that book. If he couldn't find it, he was going to have to tell Madam Prince and Dumbledore that he lost a book. He wasn't nervous for himself but he didn't want Czes to be penalized for this.

He had to think about where Peeves would put it. He would probably put it in a place that would be hard to get to or something like that. He waited until after the curfew and started wandering the halls. Maybe if he found Peeves, he could make him tell him where he book was.

He wandered around aimlessly for a while, checking high places, tops of shelves, behind paintings, but he didn't find anything. It was almost midnight before he had almost completed his search of the first floor. While he was on his tiptoes, looking on a high self, he heard a cat mewing behind him. He turned to find that caretaker's cat. "Where are they, Mrs. Norris?" came a gravely voice of the caretaker.

Mr. Filch came around the corner sharply. The cat slinked off as Filch walked up to him with a very disappointed look. "What are you doing _Professor?"_ Firo narrowed his eyes, "I'm looking for something that was misplaced. Is that a problem?" Filch glared him and was about to say something but was interrupted by his cat again.

Filch hunched his back and crept into the room on his left. "Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." Firo thought that this man was weird and creepy so he left him to do his thing.

A couple of minutes after he started walking away he heard something metal crash followed by the voice of one of the students. "Run!" He smiled. Looks like Filch was going to find a student after all.

In the next moment, Filch burst from the classroom and started running down the halls. "Like a bat out of hell." Firo muttered as he passed. He climbed the railing and jump up on the stairs as they were moving so he could get were he was going faster. He had an idea of where it might he.

Dumbledore had said that there was a room in the third floor that was off limits. That was probably where he hid the book. It took him a bit to find the place but he did. It was at the end of the corridor. He had been told that it was going locked but that was a simple fix.

Suddenly, the door swung open and four children in their pajamas ran out. Quietly he slipped over to the wall and watched as they passed him. None of them noticed him at all.

He walked up to the door that they had just left. He tried it, half expecting some trap to be set off, but nothing happened. It was just locked. He tapped the lock with his wand. " _Alohomora_ " The door swung opened. He thought that Dumbledore would have secured this door a little better but maybe he was planning to caught something. He wouldn't put it past him.

The door led him the forbidden corridor. Inside, there was something he had never seen before, a gigantic, three headed dog. 'Cerberus' was the first thing he thought of. He was all riled up and looked like it was going to eat someone. "Whoa there!" he said. Glancing at the floor he noticed that there was a trapdoor.

Suddenly he felt like there was something wrong with his side, it hurt a lot. He hadn't noticed when this Cerberus thing had bit him in the side. It looked like it was going to bit him again but then it made a funny face. The blood and flesh that it had consumed flowed back out of it's throat and back to Firo. Even though he had seen this blood come back to his many times before it was still sort of surreal.

The poor dog looked more than a little confused about what just happened. Firo used this opportunity to leave the room. He noted that the door locked on its own when it shut. His shirt was all torn up and there was slobber on him but not a mark on his skin. As he was walking away he wondered if any slobber mixed with his blood when it returned to his body.

Well, the thought was a little gross but it didn't matter now. Even if he did get a little slobber inside him, which was unlikely, it wouldn't hurt him. Man, this school was dangerous. It was a miracle that those kids didn't get hurt. Maybe they used magic on the dog or something.

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'Sagtail's Glass' doesn't really exist just a random thing that I made up.


	10. Good Advice? or Halloween

Chapter 10 - Good advice or Halloween

Firo got to bed really late that night and consequently was very tired the next morning. He was leaning on the rails as he traveled down the stairs for breakfast.

Of course he noticed when someone else stepped onto the staircase with him but he really didn't feel like socializing right now. "Good morning, Professor Prochainezo." McGonagall greeted him. He glanced over at her.

"Yeah," he inclined his head. "Good morning." It was then that he noticed that she was holding the book that he had been looking for. He turned to her fully, "Where did you get that book?"

She looked down at the book and back at him, "It was in the girls bathroom." She explained. "Why? Do you recognize it?"

Firo rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, I borrowed it from the library but Peeves took it and hid it from me. I was looking for it yesterday but couldn't find it anywhere." She handed the book back to him. "Thank you."

As they reached the end of the stairs, they stepped onto the next flight. "I have a question though. When I was looking for the book I ended up in the forbidden corridor, and well, do you know what's in there?"

She glanced over at him with a suspicious look, "Did you go into the corridor?"

He nodded, "Well, I needed to find that book. So, why is there a big dog in there? If you needed something guarded, why don't you put it in a place that doesn't have a bunch of children?"

"Professor Dumbledore made this decision." she answered.

This just didn't sit right with him. "So, you're not going to even question it? If something goes wrong everyone's life is in danger. We are talking about a bunch of children, they're not going to follow all of the rules."

Her lips were tight, and it looked like she was going to say something back to him but he didn't want to hear it. "Whatever." He stepped off the stairs and went down the hall. He wasn't hungry anyway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ron and Harry were still very excited about the great adventure that they had the night before. Hermione was not as thrilled and claimed that she wasn't going to speak with them anymore, which they didn't have a problem with at all. Neville just wanted to forget about the whole incident.

When they got to the Great Hall, they couldn't help but snicker at the look on Malfoy's face. He was certain that they would be kicked out of the school. They sat down at the table together and began discussing what might be in the forbidden corridor. Harry told Ron about the package that he suspected had been taken from Gringotts to Hogwarts.

Ron filled his plate, "It's either really valuable or really dangerous."

"Or both," Harry said, filling his own.

But all they knew about it was that it was about two inches long and it was important enough to be guarded by that thing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Only a week had passed since Firo had discovered the dog but already he had nearly forgotten about it. He had so many other things going on at the moment.

When he had told Czeslaw that he had found the book, Czes was very happy, even if he pretended not to be. He came back and borrowed more books. Ennis even visited him occasionally.

While he was eating breakfast he noticed that McGonagall was smiling and glancing over at the Gryffindor table, like she was expecting something. Snape was also looking over at the table but with a look of disgust.

He was curious as to what was going on. He abandoned his food in favor of joining her. He sat next to her and rested his chin on his hand so that he could look up at her. "What's got you so excited this morning?"

She looked over at him, "The Gryffindor team has a new seeker and his new broom should be arriving this morning."

It took him a second to realize that she was talking about Quidditch. "That's cool." he said, sitting up fully. He didn't really care about Quidditch. Even if they _could_ play it in America, he wasn't really interested in sports.

He was finished with his breakfast and wasn't expecting any letters so he left the Great Hall a little early. He didn't really have anywhere to be. Normally he spent the night before perfecting his lesson plan but now he was just walking around, trying to see if he had missed anything. He thought it would be nice if he could discover everything about this place.

It didn't take long to run into Professor Flitwick. He hadn't really talked to him very much. "Not hungry this morning, Professor?" Firo asked.

The tiny man chuckled, "I don't eat breakfast. You don't mind if I ask, how have you adjusted to life as a teacher?" His high pitched voice almost surprised him. He had forgotten what he had sounded like.

Firo smiled back at him, "Yeah, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Actually, I don't think I'm half bad, if I do say so myself."

Professor Flitwick went to pat him on the back but could only reach just above his hip level. "I agree. You've been doing really good. This is your first time teaching, if I'm not mistaken."

Firo nodded down at him, "Yeah, that's right."

"Amazing," said Professor Flitwick. "I'm very surprised about how well you're doing. Keep up the good work."

As they were about to turn a corner they heard the voices of some of the students. "That's a broomstick. You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them." Firo thought that he could almost recognize the voice but not quite.

Professor Flitwick was getting ready to hurry to them but Firo placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down. "Let's go slowly. So we can hear what's going on." Flitwick considered this for a second and nodded back at him.

"It's not any old broomstick. It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" said a different voice. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus." "What would you know about it, Weasley," said the first voice, "You couldn't afford half the handle. I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."

By the time he had finished taunting him Professor Flitwick made it to them. Firo had opted to let him take the lead and walk up behind him. "Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he said.

Malfoy looked very smug, "Potter's been sent a broomstick." he said. 'Quick to tattle.' Firo thought but stood back and let them talk.

Flitwick nodded and beamed at Harry, "Yes, yes, that's right. Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"

Firo raised his hand to hide his own smirk. "A Nimbus Two Thousand, it is." It was obvious how happy he was when he was saying it. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it.

As Harry and Ron ran upstairs, trying not to laugh out loud, Firo waved at Professor Flitwick, implying that he was going to say there.

When he was alone with Malfoy he addressed him. "I suppose it's a bit unfair."

Malfoy looked up at him hopefully, "It's not. It's just because Potter's famous." He huffed.

Firo crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "Maybe, maybe not. It's not untrue that your actions caused it, though." Malfoy was about to object but Firo talked over him. "Your problem isn't how you think about Potter or in that you try to get things that you want. I don't think that there is anything wrong in looking out for yourself. Your problem is that you don't think before you act. You're too focused on Potter and not on your own success."

Firo left him to think about that. He wondered if he had said the right thing. It didn't matter right now, he had a lesson to get to.

Amazingly, he wasn't the last person to enter his classroom. While he set up the lesson for the day, the last few stragglers entered the room.

"So" Firo began, "I'm going to say two terrible words and I want you to raise your hand _only_ if you know what both of them are."

"Please tell me the difference between cancer and intus putridam." There were a lot of uncertain looks but this wasn't surprising. He didn't expect most of them to know the answer.

Only two hands rose in the air. "Yes, miss Granger." he pointed to the first row.

"Cancer is a muggle disease that attacks the cells and inuts putridam is a magic disease that makes you rot from the inside out. Neither have a cure." She answered, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Firo nodded his head. "Yes, well, you're half right." He started walking around the room so that he could address everyone. "Can anyone guess the reason that most of you didn't know the answer." He looked around and waited for someone to answer.

Again, Hermione was one of the people to raise their hand but instead he called on a Slytherin boy. "Because," this boy was one he didn't like. Even answering the question he had a snotty attitude. "one of them only effects wizards."

Firo sighed. "Yeah, kinda. Intus putridam is caused by magic so muggles are rarely effected. Cancer is not magic but wizards don't get it. So, if we assume that both wizards and muggles are human and our anatomy is the same, why aren't wizards effected?"

The class seemed genuinely confused by this. Once again Hermione raised her hand, this time slowly and uncertainly. "Because there is a cure for cancer and muggles don't know?" She looked like she thought that she might be wrong.

Firo smiled brightly, "Exactly!" She smiled back at him. "This is where we would put alchemy into practice. There is a potion called Mother's Heart that was invented to cure infants of a variety of sicknesses. It also prevents and can even treat cancer."

The students looked shocked and amazed by this. That was understandable. Many of them were children of muggles. Cancer was a really big deal to them.

"Mother's Heart prevents many things but, unfortunately, means that wizards often have weaker immune systems." He accepted that some of them didn't know what immune systems were but pressed on. Muggles had a much more advanced perspective of medicine than wizards. "Potions and magic cures everything so most wizards don't feel the need to worry about things like that but an illness can often find a way of strengthening itself over time. That's why wizards can't fight off Intus Pudtridem like muggles."

The class seemed to be thinking about what he had said. It was a hard thing to accept but it was the truth.

He stopped in the middle of the room and crossed his arms. "So, if you wanted to 'cure cancer', what steps would you take?" The students took this time to whisper among themselves. This was something that he had encouraged since he started teaching. He wanted them to talk to each other.

There were a few hands in the air. He didn't like calling on the same people over and over again. This time he called on a blond girl from the back of the room. He hadn't memorized her name, he couldn't remember every students name. It was just the most outspoken people that he remembered. "Yes miss."

"Um," she said quietly, "you could take it to the hospital and heal someone." Firo nodded. "OK, you healed someone. Now I'm the doctor that was in charge of this patient." He changed his voice a little, "What happened? These tests...They came back negative! Miss, do you know what happened?"

It took her a couple of seconds to realize that he was actually talking to her. She turned a shade of pink as she answered him back, "I- um I gave him this potion to heal him." Her voice got so quiet that he could hardly hear her. He picked up an imaginary bottle. "Where did you get this medicine?" "I made it myself." she answered but he couldn't hear her.

He took a step forward and cupped his hands around his mouth, "You need to talk louder." he said in a loud whisper. "I- I made it!" she squeaked. He nodded and went back to his 'doctor' voice, "That's amazing. We need to get this to the board of medicine right away. We could help millions."

Firo sighed and spoke to everyone in his normal voice, "This wouldn't work because the muggle world wouldn't be able to recreate this potion. Many of the ingredients can only be found in the magic world." He considered asking the original question again but thought better of it. He highly doubted a bunch of 11 year olds would figure it out.

"In order to 'cure cancer'" he explained, "you would need to break everything down. Even magic ingredients have a scientific method that you can follow if you break it down enough. Muggles _can_ recreate magic things but it takes a ton of work. If you want the credit for something like this, you have to work for it."

He spent the rest of the class teaching them the different methods of how you would break things down. He explained that even with things that they didn't know, they could use these methods.

"For this weeks homework I want you to take any ingredient of your choice and tell me the method of how you would break it down. I don't care how long the scroll is as long as you explain well enough."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oliver had meant to be at the Quidditch field before seven o'clock but got caught up with something else. He still had to grab the Quidditch balls. He was going to be late for sure.

By the time he arrived, Potter was already on his broom, zooming around the field. He took a moment to admire his natural talent before calling to him.

"Hey, Potter, come down!" he called loudly. Potter gracefully landed next to him, as if he had been flying for years. "Very nice " he praised him. "I see what McGonagall meant...you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."

Even as he opened the crate he could see Potter's fascination with it. He didn't expect him to memorize all the rules tonight but it was enough for him to get the basics.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

That evening Firo and Ennis were sitting together in the library, enjoying talking quietly, like conspirators. Czeslaw was nearby, engrossed in his own reading. He told her about the children being able to bring their own brooms to play Quifdotch and that je thought that was a bit unfair.

In the end they agreed that, whether it was or not, it wasn't any of his business.

When Ennis went over to one of the bookshelves Czeslaw came over to him with an unusual look of timidness. "Firo?"

Firo leaned back in his chair. "What's up Czes?"

"I was wondering something. Why...Why did you agree to this job?" He looked like he almost regretted asking but still, he continued. "This isn't something that you would normally do. Please don't give me some half baked excuse like Maiza wanted me to'. I want to know the real reason."

Firo looked back at him with a serious look. He wasn't sure what to say. He himself didn't have a good reason. Maiza asking was part of it but there was something more. There was one other reason but it didn't explain everything either.

He laced his fingers on the table, "I never went to school, the Martillo family taught me everything that I know. There great, don't get me wrong, but I've always wondered what I was missing out in the magic world."

Czeslaw gave him an impish smile, "Other than corrupt politics and media, little to no safety on anything, and the most skewed, unfair environment you can imagine? Nothing really."

Firo smiled at his little joke but he could see the truth in it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Before he knew it, two months had passed by. He was getting really good at what he was doing. In fact, he considered maybe doing this teaching thing again some time in the future.

On Halloween morning he woke to the smell of baked pumpkin, which was actually pretty nice. In his life he had memories of pumpkin on Thanksgiving but he also had a vague feeling of nostalgia about all this that he chalked up to someone else's memories. He knew that at least one of the people in his memories went to Hogwarts.

As he traveled through the halls he admired the decorations. Hogwarts really put a lot of work into everything. The Great Hall was the busiest of all, there were even thousands of live bats. He really hoped that whoever was in charge of this put in some kind of protection against being pooped on.

On his way to his first class he had to sigh in disappointment. It would have been great if todays lesson had something to do with Halloween but that wasn't what they were studying so it was just going to be a plain boring lesson. He had asked Czes and Ennis for advice but they were no help. Ennis didn't have any good ideas and Czes didn't care.

During his lunch break he decided to take a short walk around the school. without warning a student ran into him. He had to hold her shoulders to keep her from falling to the ground.

Miss Granger looked up at him with a tear stained face. He really wasn't good in situations like this. "I'm sorry professor" she mumbled and started to leave as quickly as she could.

"Wait a sec," he should have let it go. As she turned to face him, he realized he had no idea what to do. "Ah, what, uh what's got you all worked up?" He felt like kicking himself for his lameness. She shook her head, "Its nothing."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Yeah, looks like a whole lot of nothing to me." She turned away and bit her lip. "Just some mean boys. Its not a big deal." Firo nodded, "Yeah, piss on 'em." She covered her mouth at his language.

He sighed and put his arms behind his head, "Look, miss Granger, you're a really good student, bright and dedicated. No matter what happens here, you're defiantly going placed so just, ya know, do you. I wish I had your kinda brains when I was that age."

She had stopped crying but her eyes were still puffy. She smiled a little as she said, "Professor Prochainezo, you're one of the smartest teachers here and you're really young for a teacher. I bet you were really smart as a kid."

Firo nearly laughed. "Nah, I was dumb as they came. Actually, I'm a lot older than I look. Granger, Hermione, it takes a while to figure out where you belong on this world, some never do. But you can't let some idiot get the better of you. You just have to be the best _you_ there is. Face forward and take any problem that comes at you with everything you've got."

He walked away as she was thanking him. He had no idea were he was going with that but it sounded good at the moment. He really should let others deal with students problems. He continued on his way to the great hall for the feast.

The feast had started pleasant enough but when Professor Quirrel ran into the room and informed everyone that there was a Troll in the dungeons Firo jumped into action. He didn't even wait for the ciaos to die down. He was in his element.

As he was running down the halls, trying to remember the directions to the dungeons, he noticed Snape traveling upstairs. It was odd, and he took note of it but he would rather go to where the action was.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Hermione thought about what Professor Prochainezo had said. He was really insightful. But she still wasn't ready to see any of them. She needed some time to herself. The only place that she could find to be completely alone was the girl's bathroom.

She washed her face a couple of times and took a deep breath. She couldn't hide in here forever. She looked into the mirror and nodded, she was ready to go. Just before she was ready to walk out the door she smelled something that made her want to throw up. It wasn't like anything that she had ever encountered before.

She turned around to see the terrible, tiny eyes of a twelve foot tall troll. She couldn't imagine how it got into the bathroom. She let out a scream as she rushed to the wall. The troll was moving closer to her, knocking sinks off the wall as he approached.

"Confuse it!" she heard a familiar voice. She looked beyond the troll to see Harry and Ron. Why in the world would they come here? Harry's voice caught it's attention and it stopped coming toward her. Instead it raised it's club and started moving for the boys.

Ron threw a pipe at it but it didn't even feel it. "Oy, pea-brain!" he yelled.

While Ron had its attention , Harry ran over to Hermione and tried to get her to run with him but her legs wouldn't move. As the troll got closer to Ron, Harry did something out of his mind.

He ran and jumped on the trolls back. The troll didn't seem to notice at first, until Harry stuck his wand up the trolls nose. It howled in pain as it flailed around for a while, waving its club in the air.

Ron stood in front of her and raised his wand in front of him. Amazingly he did something that she didn't think was possible. He shouted "Wingardium Leviosa!"

She watched, very impressed, as the troll's club flew out of the troll's hand and into the air, turned over lazily in the air and fell onto the troll's head. The club was heavy and the troll swayed on its feet before falling to the ground. The whole room seemed to shake.

The room was deathly silent when Hermione spoke, "Is it...dead?" Harry shook his head. "I don't think so. I think its just been knocked out?"

Harry pulled his sticky wand from the troll's nose. It was covered in lumpy blue-gray slime. "Urgh, troll boogers." He looked at it with disgust.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Professor McGonagall burst through the door followed by an out of breath Professor Prochainezo. He look down at the troll with disappointment. Professor Snape and Professor Quirrel followed closely behind.

Professor Quirrel gasped and nearly fainted when he saw the troll. Professor Snape, on the other hand, bent over it.

Professor McGonagall was looking at the boy with such fury that Hermione was sure that they were going to be expelled. This was her chance to repay them for saving her life. Her record was clean, and while she _really_ didn't want to get in trouble, she thought that she could afford it for them.

"What on earth were you thinking of? You're lucky you weren't killed." She said to them harshly. "Why weren't you in your dormitory?" Now was her chance. "Please, Professor McGonagall," she said, barely clearing a whisper, "They were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall gasped. She was shocked by this. She had to say something that sounded believable. "I went looking for the troll because I- I thought I could deal with it on my own. You know, because I've read all about them." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ron drop his wand. Professor Prochainezo was smiling. He could tell that she was lying but she hoped that he wasn't going to say anything.

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club." she continued. She saw Professor Prochainezo nod at her from behind everyone else. "They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Professor McGonagall was staring at the three of them, thinking about what she had said. "Well," she said slowly, "in that case... Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" Hermione wasn't happy that she was getting in trouble for this but she was very proud that she defended the boys.

"Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall's voice was still very sharp, "five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." Hermione was surprised that she only took five points. She hung her head and hurried back to the tower.

When she got there, she was still too worked up to eat. Everyone was talking about what had happened but she stood alone by the door and waited for them. When they finally arrived there was an awkward pause before all three of them said thanks and they all got their plates. Little did she know that this was going to be the beginning of a life long friendship.

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I made up intus putridam and Mother's Heart because I couldn't find anything online about an incurable magic disease that was similar enough to cancer. Also, Mother's Heart sounds like a good name for a magic baby medicine.


	11. Quidditch

Chapter 11 - Quidditch

As November approached, the weather was getting colder and Czeslaw was not happy about it. The frost on the ground crunched when he walked up to the school in the morning. He didn't often go up to the school early but he was in the middle of a project and he had a little more research to do. He had all his previous research in a shoulder bag that he had been using for quite a while. Firo shouldn't have any lessons this morning but he had forgotten to check the schedule that Ennis had written down before.

As he was approaching the school he noticed the Quidditch field out of the corner of his eye. It had really been a long time since he saw Quidditch. When he was little he liked the sport but it didn't really catch on in America. Besides that, Firo and Ennis, weren't into sports in general. Even Mazia didn't follow the European teams. Czeslaw only read about them occasionally.

He clutched his coat closer to him and headed towards the field. He probably had plenty of time before he could meet with Firo anyway.

He walked through the courtyard toward the Quidditch field, looking up at the hoops. He missed the sport a little more than he wanted to admit. It used to be exciting but now he didn't really know anyone else who liked it.

He rubbed his cold hands together as he moved along the grounds. He was still looking up when he bumped into something that he didn't recognize. "Hey mate," yelled a irritated red head. "Watch where you're going." Czeslaw took a step back and said, "I'm sorry."

He recognized Potter, that meant that the other two were probably his friends. The bushy haired girl had a blue flame in a jar to keep her warm. He almost smiled at that, he was nearly 15 the first time he did that. Although he looked no different that he did now and he did it because he didn't want to freeze to death...again.

"Um," she started, "I think I've seen you around before. What house are you in?" Czeslaw looked the other way, "I'm not in any house. I didn't go to school this year." The students looked a little confused so he continued, "Firo Prochainezo is my brother so I come and visit him sometimes. I'm Czeslaw." He reached out to shake their hands.

The girl was the first to take his hand, "Hermione Granger." The red head was next, "I'm Ron Weasely." The name was vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite recognize it. Maybe it was part of an old wizarding family or something. Then there was Potter, "Harry Potter." "Nice to meet you." Czeslaw said as he shook all of their hands.

Hermione then addressed him. "Does that mean that you're going to school next year?" He gave her a bright fake smile, "Yes," he nodded, "although, I'm probably going to a school in America." "I see." she responded.

"Hey," said Ron, "Do your parents live in Hogsmeade?" Czeslaw shook his head, "I live with Firo and his wife." The students looked a little sad but didn't ask anymore. He had a story all made up if they asked but he was glad that they didn't.

Harry motioned across the yard, "Snape!" he whispered harshly. Czeslaw glanced over in that direction while the others tried to hide the fire from the teacher as much as possible. He didn't really know much about Snape, only that Firo didn't like him very much. That didn't mean much to him though, he didn't base his opinions on what Firo did and did not like.

Snape limped up and glared at all of them before he landed on Czeslaw. "I believe you were to be under supervision while on school grounds." he sneered. His way of speaking and tone were irritating but Czeslaw decided to be as polite as he could, "I'm sorry, I just got here and was on my way to meet with Firo when I got distracted." He looked down at the ground and held his hands behind his back in hopes that it would make him look more innocent.

He heard Snape make a disbelieving sound but turned his attention to Potter, "What's that you got there, Potter?" Potter looked a little apprehensive but showed him a book that he had been holding. "Library books are not to be taken outside the school." Snape said strictly. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."

Czeslaw kept his head down and frowned deeply as Snape limped away. Snape was a very disagreeable person but what was concerning was the idea that Snape could give him trouble for taking a book to the courtyard.

"He's just made that rule up." Harry mumbled. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?" His friend crossed his arms and shook his head, "Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him."

Hermione turned to Czeslaw again. "What did he mean when he said you were suppose to be under supervision?" Czeslaw turned away uncomfortably, "Since I'm not a student I'm not really allowed to be here but the Headmaster is allowing me to study in the library. Of course, I can't just run around in my own."

Hermione was thinking about something, "I thought that Professor Prochainezo had a class with the 3rd years this morning." "Really?" Czeslaw asked. He sighed, he really should have checked the schedule but he was excited about finishing up this project.

The boys gave him a weird look. "Why are you studying when you aren't even in school yet? Like Professor Prochainezo doesn't give you tests at home or something, right?" said the Weasely boy. Hermione gave him an irritated look, "Because, Ron, some people just like to learn." Czeslaw bit his lip, "Yeah, something like that." He guessed that he might be a little weird to the first years.

"I really should get going." Czeslaw excused himself. "It was nice to meet you." said Hermione. The four of them waved goodbye and went their own ways.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

When Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to the noisy common room, they sat by the window to do their homework. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them. She didn't let them copy but they always got the answers right when she checked it for them.

Harry really wanted his book back. Wood had let him borrow 'Quidditch Through the Ages' in hopes that it would help him prepare for his first game. He found it a very interesting read and learned a lot about the rules of the game that he hadn't known. He needed it to take the edge off his nerves. There was no reason he should be scared of asking for it back. Besides, surely he wouldn't refuse if other teachers were listening.

As he got up, he told the others that he was going to go. "Better you than me." they said.

When he got to the staffroom he knocked but there was no answer. He waited a moment before knocking again but again there was no answer. He hoped that maybe Snape left the book inside. He gently pushed the door ajar and peered in.

Both Snape and Filch were in there. Snape was holding his robe up above his knee, revealing his bloody and mangled leg. Filch was handing him some bandages. "Blasted thing," Snape said, "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"

Harry realized that he needed to be out of there and tried to shut the door quietly but couldn't do so without being caught. "POTTER!" Snape's face was clouded in rage. He had dropped his robes.

"I just wondered if I could have my book back." Harry said weakly. "GET OUT! OUT!" Harry left quickly and sprinted back upstairs.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Czeslaw thought about going back to the village. He really didn't want to and there was no guarantee that a first year would know Firo's schedule. But if she was right then this was already a wasted trip.

He started back to the village when he ran across Professor McGonagall. He really didn't want to get in trouble for his stupid mistake so he turned to walk away. Unfortunately he wasn't quick enough to slip past her without being noticed. "Good morning." she greeted him. He turned to her sharply and smiled, "Good morning, Professor." "Your name was Czeslaw, correct?" she asked curiously. He nodded, "Yes that's right."

She crossed her arms, "I thought that your brother had class this morning." He bit his lip and felt like he couldn't meet her eye, "I was going to study in the library with my brother but I forgot his schedule and came here without checking. I'm sorry, I'll go back to the village now."

Once again he tried to leave but she stopped him. "If you would like, I can allow you to study in my office while I am grading papers until your brother is finished." He smiled warmly at her. "I would like that very much, thank you." She nodded, "Then you have my permission to go to the library and get whatever books you need. Tell them I sent you then come to my office immediately." "I won't take long."

He didn't have any trouble with anyone and made his way to her office fairly quickly.

It was unexpectedly peaceful in her office. At first she seemed to be intensely interested in what he was studying but she didn't say anything. However, after a while she moved on to her own work and let him study in peace.

After about an hour of this peacefulness she broke the silence. "Will you be joining us tomorrow for the Quidditch game?" Czeslaw shook his head, "I haven't spoken to anyone about it. Would it be ok for me to be there?"

Professor McGonagall smiled at him, "Of course. Do you like Quidditch?" Czeslaw smiled back, "Yeah. I haven't kept up on any if the European teams lately but I've always been a fan of the Appleby Arrows."

It was kind of interesting to see her eyes light up at the mention of the team. It turned out to be one of the teams that she liked as well. They spent the rest of the morning talking about the sport and he even learned things that he didn't know.

"oh," she exclaimed, looking at the clock, "is it lunch already? Well, I'm sure you would like to spend this meal with your brother." She got up and started for the door but he stopped her.

"I'm finished here, I'll just go back on my own. I wanted to thank you though. This was a very pleasant morning." Czeslaw said, standing up as well. "It would be nice if we could talk again some time." She nodded, "Yes, that would be lovely. I hope to see you tomorrow morning."

When Czeslaw left Minerva left her office as well. She hadn't realized that Professor Prochainezo's younger brother was so interesting. Professor Prochainezo didn't seem that interested in Quidditch but Czeslaw was actually quite knowledgeable on the subject. When she asked him if he had ever ridden on a broom he said that it had been a really long time. She wondered how long was really long. It couldn't had been too long, he couldn't be older than 10.

In the hallway she noticed Professor Prochainezo, staring out the window. She walked up to him and said, "Good afternoon, Professor Prochainezo." He turned to her and nodded. He had a sort of melancholy look in his eye.

"Good afternoon." he responded. She stood next to him and looked out in the direction that he was looking. "I just spent the morning with your brother." She informed him. He looked surprised, "Really? I didn't know he was here." He looked in the direction that she had just come but she shook her head, "He already left for the day. He wanted to do some studying and said he had forgotten your schedule so I let him study in my office."

He nodded, like he totally expected this. "Yeah, when he gets wrapped up in his projects he kinda forgets everything else. Thank you for letting him study with you." She nodded, "He's an exceptionally bright child." Professor Prochainezo smiled wryly, "Yeah, Czes is smarter than me sometimes."

"You are going to attend the Quidditch match tomorrow, right?" she asked, changing the subject. He just shrugged his shoulders, "I guess." She crossed her arms and looked at him in the eyes, "I was hoping that you would bring Czeslaw."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Oh, you guys got along really well then?" She looked down in thought, "Yeah, he really enjoyed talking about Quidditch with me." Professor Prochainezo looked genuinely surprised at her. "I didn't know that he liked Quidditch."

This was surprising. She didn't ask directly but she was under the impression that he was raising Czeslaw. How could he not know how much Czeslaw liked Quidditch? She wondered if he knew that Czeslaw knew how to ride a broom. The question was when did he started taken care of his brother. But it wasn't really her business and it would be rude to ask.

"Yes," she answered him, "he is quite fond of the subject." Professor Prochainezo nodded, "Yeah, I'll bring Ennis too. It'll be fun."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, Firo waited in front of the castle for Ennis and Czeslaw to arrive. It was about 10:30 when they showed up, Ennis had a graceful smile. She wasn't really that interested in Quidditch but it was fun to spend the day together and they hadn't really had a chance for a while. Czeslaw was clearly excited but he was trying to act cool.

"Let's go find a good seat." said Firo, as they met up. He led them to the stands were the teacher's normally sat. He didn't see Professor McGonagall anywhere. Firo and Ennis sat close together while Czeslaw sat a row above them. Firo was thankful when Ennis handed him a pair of binoculars. He hadn't thought to bring his own, even Czeslaw brought his own.

Madam Hooch, who was refereeing the match, stood in the middle of the field with her broom in her hand as the two teams walked out and met in the middle. "Now" she said strongly, "I want a nice fair game, all of you. Mount your brooms, please."

As the players rose into the air Firo looked behind him to say something to Czeslaw but stopped when he saw the look on his face. He didn't think that he had ever seen Czeslaw look so excited. He leaned close to Ennis, "I'll be right back." He stood quietly and excused himself from the stands.

Firo hadn't been gone long, but when he returned one of the girls from Gryffindor had scored. He went to the bottom tier of the stands and raised the camera he had gone to fetch. He really wanted to have some pictures of this day. Czeslaw was so happy in this moment. He also got some good pictures of Ennis as well. The difference was that Ennis knew that pictures were being taken but Czeslaw was so wrapped up in the game that he didn't notice at all.

"Slytherin in possession." said the young announcer, probably a student, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds towards the, wait a moment, was that the Snitch?" Firo, like everyone else, was looking around as hard as he could. Even the Slytherin Chaser dropped the ball while looking for it.

It seemed that the Gryffindor Seeker, Potter, spotted it and started diving for it but the Slytherin Seeker, Higgs, also noticed it. They raced for the tiny ball. Czeslaw had his fists clenched in front of him, his cheeks red from excitement. They were neck and neck but Potter was just a little bit faster. Just before he was about to grab the ball the leader of the Slytherin team rammed into him and nearly knocked him from his broom.

This little stunt gave the Gryffindor team three extra shots and obviously the little ball was lost. The announcer started again, "So, after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-" "Jordan!" Firo heard Professor McGonagall's voice scold him. "I mean," the announcer corrected himself, "after that open and revolting foul..." "Jordan, I'm warning you." There was a threatening tone to her voice.

"All right, all right." he conceded. "Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinner, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

Firo had to smile at the look of anger on Czeslaw's face after all that just happened. It was good to see him so involved in this event. Czeslaw like to be aloof so it was nice to get out of the norm.

Firo was still taking pictures while the announcements were going on when Ennis pointed at something in the sky. Potter was flying wildly through the air, like he had no control. "What in the world?" Firo asked under his breath.

It seemed like not a lot of people had noticed his strange behavior yet. Most others were focused on the fact that the Slytherins just scored again. It looked like a spell was being used on the broom but he couldn't quite tell what it was.

He looked around wildly to try and find out what, or who, was behind this but he couldn't find anything. By this time most everyone else had noticed. The crowd was pointing and murmuring about what was going on.

He went to leave the stands but Ennis grabbed his arm. "What are you planning on doing?" she said curiously. "I'm going to... I'll..." but he didn't know. He doubted that he could even caught him if he fell but even if he could the Weasely twins were already circling under him.

When Professor Quirrell fell into his row he looked behind him to find out what was going on. That was when he noticed that Czes wasn't looking up in the sky. He was staring at Snape. Firo's first instinct was to think that this was because Czes thought that Snape was the cause of this but then he noticed something else.

One of the students, a girl, was sneaking around under the stands. She raised her wand closer to Snape's robes and said a quiet spell that he couldn't hear. Bright blue flames jumped onto Snape's robes. It didn't take long for him to notice. As soon as Snape did she scooped up the flame in a jar and got away quickly.

The people in the stand went to help him and whoever it was that was doing the spell had their eye contact broken. Firo was furious though. With as much as Snape talks about his recklessness, trying to kill a student was ridiculous. If Ennis hadn't still been holding onto his arm, Firo would have beaten the snot out of Snape.

But, in the end, it seemed like Potter was alright. He was flying toward the ground, fast. A little to fast. Firo pulled himself from Ennis to go to the grounds to provide help if he could. But Potter made it to the ground and held his hand to his mouth, he looked like he was going to be sick.

Instead of throwing up, though, he coughed up the little Snitch. He had caught the thing in his mouth. As he held it high in the air he shouted, "I've got the Snitch!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Czeslaw had meant to caught up with McGonagall after the game but he didn't see her. He was actually more interested in talking with Hermione. He was certain that she was the person that he saw under the stands today.

He wanted to know how she knew it was Snape doing the curse. If one of the teachers was targeting a student then Firo would eventually find out. He always stuck his nose were it didn't belong. If this person was willing to kill a student, he wouldn't hesitate to kill another teacher. And if he found out that Firo was immortal, then things could go wrong for everyone. Czeslaw really didn't want to take that chance.

If he found out the worst then he would just have to take matters into his own hands. There were a lot of ways to make someone disappear without having to actually interact with them. He just wanted to make sure that this was a necessary thing first.

Czeslaw found out that she was with her friends at the groundskeeper's hut. He hadn't met that man before and he would have been more than happy to keep it that way but he didn't have a lot of chances to talk with the students. Plus with everyone so worked up with what just happened he would have an easier time getting answers.

He was at the side of the hut, walking toward the door, when he heard something break. He crept next to the window. "How do you know about Fluffy?" asked a very deep voice that he could only assume belonged to the groundskeeper. "Fluffy?" asked a much younger voice.

Czeslaw moved closer to the window so that he was just under it. The groundskeeper answered with a bit of what Czeslaw thought was embarrassment in his voice. "Yeah, he's mine. Bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year. I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-" but he stopped himself before he revealed something.

"Yes?" pressed a boy's voice. "Now," said the groundkeeper's voice with a hint of anger, "don't ask me anymore. That's top secret, that is." "But Snape's trying to steal it." objected the boy.

"Rubbish." the groundkeeper retorted. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort." Czeslaw wondered how true that was. If that thing was valuable enough a teacher _would_ try to steal it but the question was what did Potter have to do with it, whatever it was.

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" A voice he presumed to be Hermione's cried. She sounded really stressed. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them!" The thought of how useful she could be flashed through Czeslaw's mind. "You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

That gave him a lot to think about. He wasn't going to take action on such little information, of course, but if he could be a little more certain, he would bring this to Firo. So far, other than a couple of children, Firo was the only person that he could trust with anything.

The groundskeeper sounded really mad by then. "I'm tell' yeh, yer wrong! I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh, yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin'. That's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel-"

That was a name that Czeslaw certainly knew. If it was what he thought it was than that teacher would do anything and everything to get to it. He didn't actually know exactly how it worked but he didn't want any part of it. This was defiantly something that needed investigation. Unfortunately, Firo was more of an action guy. If he told him now, Firo would try and stop him personally. Czeslaw really didn't want to get involved but things would be a lot worse if Snape realized that there were immortals involved. Besides, if he got caught he could play it off as being a really curious kid.

He didn't need to stick around to hear the rest. The groundskeeper wasn't going to tell them anything. He needed to go back to the main part of the castle and pretend that he was just enjoying the celebration with everyone else.


	12. Christmas or the Mirror of Erised

I'm not gone, I swear, just lazy.

Chapter 12 - Christmas or The Mirror of Erised

Firo felt that Dumbledore was keeping something from him. This was an unsettling conclusion and he hoped that he was wrong about that. The giant Cerberus like dog was still really bothering him.

He wasn't really sure that he should do anything about this but his curiosity was getting the best of him. It was a good thing that he was a teacher. That meant that not all the rules applied to him. He could wander the halls without anyone saying anything to him. He decided that he was going to begin his investigation.

In the middle of December everyone woke to find the entire grounds covered with several feet of snow. Even the lake was frozen solid and several of the students were ice skating. The Weasley twins were having fun bewitching snowballs to follow Quirrell around and bounce off the back of his turban.

Firo was very excited about Christmas. He was sure that he bought good presents for both Ennis and Czes. He wanted to send an owl down to them but the only owls that were even able to make it to the castle had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before taking flight again. He wouldn't do that to one of those birds just to send a letter.

One morning, while Firo was warming himself by the fire in the teachers lounge, Professor McGonagal walked in with Czes right behind her. "Professor Prochainezo, your brother has come to visit." "I didn't want to send my owl in this weather." he said.

While this was happening the Gryffindors and the Slytherins were having a potions class. It was so bitterly cold down in the dungeons that the students could see their breath. They huddled close to their cauldrons, trying to absorb some of their warmth.

"I do feel so sorry," said Malfoy loudly, looking over at Harry, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home." Crabbe and Goyle chuckled but Harry ignored him. Malfoy had been especially nasty since the Slytherins lost the Quidditch match.

He had tried to get others laughing by saying that a wide-mouthed tree frog could replace Harry as the Seeker. But no one found this funny. Probably because everyone was so impressed at how Harry managed to stay on his broomstick. Since that didn't work, he had started taunting him about not having a proper family.

But Harry was happy not to go back. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before and made a list of all the students that were staying during the holidays. He was the first to sign up. The Weasley boys were staying as well because their parents were going to Romania to visit their son, Charlie.

When the potions class ended they found that the corridor was block by a large fir tree being moved by Hagrid. Ron stuck his head through the branches and said, "Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Hagrid shook his head, "Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron. Professor Prochainezo is trying to help on this side."

Malfoy walked up behind them. "Would you mind moving out of the way?" He said rudely. He turned to Ron, "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley?" He obviously didn't know that Professor Prochainezo was there. "Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose, that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

Ron dove forward and grabbed Malfoy's robes. Just as he did this, Professor Snape was walking up the stairs. "WEASLEY!" Ron immediately let go of Malfoy. Hagrid poked his huge, hairy face out from behind the tree, "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

Just after he said this Hagrid looked behind him and then backed up suddenly. "Be that as it may," responded Professor Snape, "fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid." As he said this Professor Prochainezo slipped past the branches. "You're right," He interjected. Snape turned to him sharply. Professor Prochainezo walked around behind Ron, "fighting is against the rules. I assume that means that picking a fight it included in that?" he asked Professor Snape.

He and Professor Snape were glaring at each other intensely. Ron and Harry knew that they didn't seem to like each other very much but it wasn't clear until then how much. " _Professor_ Prochainezo," he said in a particularly nasty way, "I'm sure that even you know that there is a big difference between arguing and actual violence. Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you." Professor Prochainezo glared at him as him left.

Malfoy and his gang smirked and pushed past the tree, scattering as many needles as they could. "I'll get him" Ron said, grinding his teeth, "one of these days, I'll get him."

Firo put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't blame you. If someone was insulting my family then I wouldn't hesitate to knock their teeth in. But if a teacher sees you, you're going to get in trouble." Both Ron and Harry raised an eyebrow at him. They had never heard of a teacher talking like that.

Hagrid looked a little nervously between them, "Well, um, it's nearly Christmas. Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat." That was when Professor Prochainezo's younger brother came out from behind the tree as well. They hadn't even seen him.

"May I come as well?" he asked. Hagrid smiled widely at him, "'course yeh can come." he patted Czeslaw on the back. Harry noticed him wince as Hagrid got too close. "Ah, Hagrid, can he stick with you for a while? I got some stuff to do." asked Professor Prochainezo. Hagrid nodded, "No problem."

Czeslaw walked next to Hermione as they followed Hagrid dragging the tree to the Great hall. Inside Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were putting decorations up using magic.

When Professor McGonagall noticed them coming in she said, "Ah, Hagrid, the last tree. Put it in the far corner, would you?"

The Great Hall looked amazing. There were twelve trees around the room. Some of them were decorated with tiny icicles and others with hundreds of candles. The walls had holly and mistletoe hung all around the room. Professor Flitwick made golden bubbles and was using his wand to trail them over the tree.

"How many days you got left until yer holiday?" Hagrid asked, taking their attention away from the decorations. Hermione looked up at him, "Just one." She then looked over at the boys, "And that reminds me, Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah, you're right." Hagrid and Czeslaw followed them out of the hall. "The library? Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?" "The library here is really interesting." Czeslaw interjected.

"Oh, we're not working," Harry said, "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is." Hagrid looked shocked, "You what-? Listen here, I've told yeh, drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."

"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all." said Hermione. "Unless," Harry added, "you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble? We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere. Just give us a hint. I know I've read his name somewhere."

Hagrid said, "I'm sayin' nothin'" Ron shrugged, "Just have to find out for ourselves, then."

Just as they were about to take off Czeslaw said, "Hey, can I join you. I can help." Harry motioned to him, "Let's go." The four of them left a disgruntled looking Hagrid.

As they were walking to the library Ron looked at Czeslaw and asked, "Aren't you supposed to stay with a teacher? Won't you get in trouble?" Czeslaw smirked at him, "Madam Prince will be there right?"

Czeslaw didn't particularly want to spend time with these kids but it was the perfect chance to spend some time reading. He already knew who Flamel was but it would look suspicious if he just told them. It was also the best way to find out what was going on without others being suspicious. It couldn't be what it sounded like. There was no way that Dumbledore would have the Sorcerers Stone. Why would it be in the school? There had to be something more.

Since he couldn't ask one of the teachers out right and if he seemed to curious he could blow his cover. This years was probably his only chance to explore the library. ...Unless he enrolled as a student next year.

He was slowly browsing the shelves for the right book while thinking about this. He could probably do that pretty easily. He supposed that Firo was to thank for this opportunity.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Potter going closer to the Restricted Section. Those were the books that he wanted to read most of all. The books that contained powerful dark magic, things that were hard to get ahold of. The only way a student could read them was a specially signed note. Only the older students could get that, and only if they were studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Madam Prince, who was dusting the shelves, walked up to Potter, "What are you looking for, boy?" Harry took a step back, "Nothing." "You'd better get out, then. Go on, out!"

Czeslaw watched him leave. Just after, Hermione walked up to him and leaned close, "We're going to go." she said quietly. Czeslaw nodded, "OK, I'm actually going to stay for a while."

While they were talking Madam Prince was watching them closely. The other two left shortly after. Madam Prince looked like she was expecting him to leave as well but she didn't say anything so he kept on reading.

Since it was time for lunch he had the library all to himself.

xxxxxxxxxx

When winter vacation started Czeslaw was allowed to come to the castle any time he wanted. Over the past few days he had taken several books and notes at the library. He was trying to figure out what that dog was and where Dumbledore would have gotten it legally. If he had obtained it illegally that would change a lot. While most of the rules in the magic community were pretty lenient, laws about magical creatures were surprisingly strict.

While he was doing this, Ennis and Firo were hanging out on the grounds.

He thoroughly enjoyed the food that house elves made. For the last couple days he would only take breaks when one of them would bring him something to eat. Normally he didn't allow others to make his food but he made an exception for them.

One day, while eating in the Great Hall, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Weasely and Potter playing chess. He really enjoyed the game but didn't really have anyone to play with except for Maiza, Firo didn't really know how to play. He enjoyed playing with Maiza but he thought that it might be fun to play with others every now and then.

Slowly he made his way over to their table. "Don't send me there, can't you see his Knight? Send him, we can afford to lose him." One of the pieces yelled at Potter. Czeslaw couldn't help but smile a little. Obviously Potter hadn't used that set much. Weasely, on the other hand, was in perfect control of his pieces.

He didn't much like the idea of revealing anything that might lead people to think that he wasn't normal but everyone here thought that he was pretty smart anyway. "May I join you?" he asked politely.

They turned to him sharply, they obviously didn't know that he was there. "Sure," said Potter, Scooting over slightly.

"Do you know how to play?" Weasely asked.

Czeslaw smiled cheekily, "Yeah, I've played quite a bit."

"Well," Potter said awkwardly, "I'm not doing so great. Do you want to take my place?"

"That would be great." Czeslaw answered.

He didn't think that he would have such a good time with kids but Weasely was actually challenging him. He didn't lose but he got close a couple of times. They played for quite a while before Ennis came to get him. He genuinely thanked the boys for their time before he left. He had forgotten that some young people could actually be fun.

xxxxxxxx

Firo surprised his family by showing up late on Christmas eve with presents in hand. They had a pleasant dinner together and that night he slept next to his wife for the first time in months.

The next morning he was the first to wake up. He took a moment to watch Ennis sleep. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she was. The rising sun was illuminating part of her face, 'This is what an angel would look like' he thought. Of course he wouldn't say something so cheesy _to_ her.

He tried to get up without waking her. He went to the kitchen to make some breakfast for the whole family. When he stepped into the kitchen he found Czeslaw asleep with his head on the table. There was a book open in front of him.

Firo smiled at him and closed the book. He knew that Czeslaw had been having trouble sleeping for a long time now. He had been debating on whether or not to use magic to make breakfast. He really didn't want to wake him so he got out the ingredients and his wand. It would make a lot less noise this way.

He was so focused on this task that he didn't notice when Ennis walked up behind him, kissed him on the cheek and whispered "Merry Christmas" in his ear. He whipped around so quickly that if their breakfast hadn't been floating just above the counter, it would have fallen to the floor.

"Merry Christmas, Lovely." he smiled at her. He had also noticed that she had really been trying to be more romantic. Neither of them were very experienced with this so sometimes it turned out kind of awkward.

"Merry Christmas, lovebirds." Czeslaw interrupted their moment. Firo looked over at him and gave him a lopsided smile, "Good morning and Merry Christmas." Czes' hair was still mussed up and sleep was heavy in his eyes.

While the Prochainezo family was eating breakfast, Harry and Ron were just waking up to piles of Christmas presents. Harry was more than a little surprised to find presents for him as well. Hagrid had sent him a hand carved flute. Even the Dursley's gave him a fifty pence, which Ron was fascinated by the 'muggle money' so he gave it to him.

Harry was wondering where all of the others came from. Ron blushed lightly and pointed to a lumpy package, "I think I know who that one's from. My mom. I told her you didn't expect any presents and.. oh no. She's made you a Weasley sweater."

Harry tore opened the package to find a thick emerald green sweater and a big box of homemade fudge. Ron was unwrapping his own, "Every year she makes us a sweater, and mine's always maroon."

Harry ate some of the fudge, "That's really nice of her." Beside him was the present that Hermione sent, a box of chocolate frogs.

The last one was a very light package. As he opened it something fluid and silvery gray slithered to the floor. It lay there in a gleaming pile.

Ron gasped when he saw it, "I've heard of those," he said in a whispered voice. He dropped his box of Every Flavor Beans. "If that's what I think it is. They're really rare, and really valuable."

Harry picked up the silvery cloth, "What is it?" He didn't really know how to described how it felt, sort of like water woven into material.

Ron was still in awe of it. "It's an invisibility Cloak. I'm sure it is. Try it on."

Harry stood and wrapped it around his shoulders. "It is!" Ron yelled, "Look down!" Harry went to look down at his feet but they were gone. He rushed over to a mirror to see for sure. Only his head showed in the reflection. When he pulled the cloak over his head, his reflection was completely gone.

From behind him, he could hear Ron yell, "There's a note. A note fell out of it!" Harry took off the cloak and snatched the note. It was written in narrow, loopy writing. He had never seen this handwriting before and couldn't guess who wrote it. It said:

Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you.

There was no signature or anything to indicate who it was from. While Harry stared at the note, soaking in the words, Ron was admiring the cloak. "I'd give anything for one of these." he said to himself, "Anything." He looked over at Harry, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing" said Harry, his voice distracted. His mind was racing. Where had it come from? Had it really belonged to his father? He had all these questions and no answers.

Just as he said this the door to the dormitory swung open. Fred and George came bounding in. They were both wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on the front and the other with a G. Harry didn't feel like sharing his new gift with anyone so he tucked it away before anyone could see it. "Merry Christmas!" they shouted. "Hey look," said George, "Harry's got a Weasley sweater too!"

Fred picked up Harry's sweater, "Harry's is better than ours, though. She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

George crossed his arms and looked at his little brother, "Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron? Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."

"I hate maroon," he halfheartedly grumbled as he put it on. "You haven't got a letter on yours," George said, "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid. We know we're called Gred and Forge."

"What's all this noise?" said Percy, sticking his head through the door. He had his sweater hung over one arm. Fred snatched it from him and held it up.

"P for prefect!" he said loudly, "Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one." The twins took hold of him and started forcing him into the sweater, knocking his glasses askew. "I...don't...want..."

"And," said George, "you're not sitting with the prefects today, either. Christmas is a time for family." His arms were pinned to his sides by the sweater as they marched him out of the room.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Firo wrapped his arm around Ennis as they walked toward the castle for Christmas dinner. Dumbledore had personally invited the whole family to the castle to stay all night there.

There was a table for the three of them but Czeslaw left them to themselves. He wanted to talk with some other people in the castle. The tables were completely covered in food. Every couple of feet there were stacks of wizard crackers. Firo explained to Ennis that they were like Christmas crackers but magic. Firo took one end and held it out to Ennis. She looked a little embarrassed but she took the other and pulled.

When they pulled it apart it sounded like a canon. They both jumped as bright blue smoke filled their area. On the table was a sunhat and a bunny. He laughed as he placed the hat on her head.

Firo watched as the bunny soon disappeared. He and Ennis had lost track of Czeslaw long ago but it wasn't a problem. He was able to take care of himself. They were having a lot of fun, eating and drinking wine.

On the other side of the room Hagrid kept ordering more wine. He was getting redder and redder and by the end of the night he actually ended up kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek. She giggled and blushed at this, her hat was lopsided.

xxxxxxxxx

Czeslaw thought the dinner looked amazing but being around so many people made him really uncomfortable. He decided to take this opportunity to wander the halls. He thought that he might be able to look at the restricted section of the library if he was careful enough.

On his way he came across an unused classroom. Along the wall were desks and chairs. By the blackboard was a huge mirror with an intricate golden frame. Engraved at the top were the words, 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'

"The mirror of Erised" Czeslaw whispered. He knew about the mirror and what it did.

He saw his family and friends surrounding him in the mirror. Firo, Ennis, Maiza, Phil, Isaac, Miria, Mary, Beg and more behind them. Even his parents were there, hidden behind everyone else. He couldn't see their faces very clearly, probably because he couldn't remember what they looked like very clearly. Everyone had a calm, peaceful look on their face.

He stared at the phrase on the top for a while. It wasn't in a language that he recognized. He had heard how to decipher it but he had to think about it for a while. It took him several minutes to realize that it was just a phrase written backward. "I...show not...your face but...your hearts...desire...That's dumb."

He touched Mary's face. She was old now, maybe even dead. He hadn't spoken to her in many years. She had wanted to be his friend but he just used her. It wasn't like he felt bad about that but thinking about her made he realize that he did feel lonely, every now and then.

He wondered if Flemel had anything to do with this or if Potter was on the wrong track completely. It was possible that this is what Snape wanted but then again there would be no reason to kill Potter for it. Unless, killing a famous kid was a distraction for taking the mirror. But that wouldn't make very much sense. On the other hand, if there was something else that was more valuable then the mirror didn't really mean anything.

He had no use for this thing though. Staring at it would do nothing for him. He decided that he would come back later to investigate further, right now he needed to look something else up. He walked out of the room, now determined to go to the library.

Unfortunately, the moment he stepped out of the room he saw the caretaker's cat slink around the corner. He raced back into the room to hide in the mess of desks. Why wasn't the caretaker at the feast? Or maybe he was and the cat was wandering around by itself. He didn't know if he would get in trouble for being here or not. He probably would though.

Czeslaw took a deep breath, rushed past the cat and out the door. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure that he assumed was the caretaker.

He took the first door on his way out, which happened to lead outside. When he got a little ways away from the door he doubled over, hands on his knees breathing hard. He wasn't all that athletic.

He took his time walking to the front of the building but as soon as he turned the corner he was hit in the head with a good sized snowball. He froze in his place for a moment, unsure of exactly how to react, as Weasely came running up to him.

"Are you alright, Czeslaw?" he said. Czeslaw gave him a fake smile, "Of course. That just caught me off guard." In the distance he could hear the Weasley twins laughing. He decided that he didn't really like them. He didn't have very much interaction with them but from what he had heard and seen, they were sort of tricksters.

Potter joined them, "We're having a snowball fight. Wanna join?" Czeslaw shook his head, "No, thank you."

At this, the twins came over to them with their hands under their armpits, mocking him, "Looks like we got a chicken amongst us." said one. The other laughed, "You afraid that the three of you wouldn't be able to take us on?"

Czeslaw put on a shy smile, "Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't stand a chance." He didn't want to get involved in something like that so he just left as quickly as he could. He knew that they were staring at him but he was OK with that.

xxxxxxxxxxx

This was the best Christmas that Harry had ever had. He had been having so much fun enjoying the day that he had nearly forgotten about something.

It wasn't until he was in bed that he remembered what it was. The invisibility cloak. He still knew next to nothing about it. Whoever sent it said that it was once his fathers.

He slipped out of bed and put it on. 'Use it well.' That's what the note had said. All the tiredness he had felt before suddenly disappeared. He realized that he could go anywhere with this cloak without anyone noticing.

He looked back at Ron's sleeping form. He wondered if he should wake him but decided against it. He wanted to use this alone.

As he crept through the portraits portal the Fat Lady woke up, "Who's there?" she shrieked. Harry didn't say anything as he snuck down the hall. His heart was racing, he could go anywhere. That was when it hit him. He should go to the library. He could get into the Restricted Section and maybe he could find something out about Flamel.

As he entered the library he drew the cloak close to him. It was too dark in there to see very much. The Restricted Section was at the back and was separated from the rest of the library by a thick rope. He slowly, quietly stepped over the rope and held up the lamp high so that he could see the titles of the books. With the invisibility cloak around him it looked like the lamp was floating in midair.

Even the light didn't really help though. Most of the old faded book had titles in languages that he didn't understand and some didn't even have titles at all. He came across one that had something that looked like a blood stain on it that really creeped him out. And he thought he might be imagining it but he thought he heard a quiet whispering coming from the books, like they knew he shouldn't be there. He thought that he saw a faint light in the distance but it didn't seem to be anything so he ignored it.

Without any direction he decided to start with the first book that caught his eye. He set the lamp down and looked around. One book caught his eye, a large black and silver volume. It was heavy and hard to pull out of the shelf. He balanced it on one of his knees and let it fall open.

The moment he did, it let out a bloodcurdling scream! He slammed it shut and dropped it but it didn't stop screaming. It just went on, one high, unbroken earsplitting note. Stepping backward, he knocked over his lamp. He heard two sets of footsteps, coming from opposite directions. One from the back of the library and the other from the corridor.

He quickly stuffed the book back onto the shelf and started to run. In the darkness, he noticed something run past him but he couldn't make out what it was. Filch was standing in the doorway, he looked straight through him, his arm outstretched, looking for something. Harry slipped under his arm and ran for it, the books shrill screams still ringing through the air.

He had been running for a while, and wasn't paying attention to where he was going. When he stopped in front of a tall suit of armor he took a second to think about where he was. There were suits of armor near the kitchen but he had to be at least five floors above that.

As he was thinking something touched his back. He turned suddenly to find a slightly shorter figure than himself. Whoever it was, was turned away from him. "Whoever you are," said the figure, "I need a place to hide for a moment. Please...I won't tell anyone about you being in the library." When he turned to him, he recognized him as Czeslaw. He must have been the other person in the library that he had seen earlier.

He grabbed him and wrapped the cloak around him just as he heard Filch's voice, "You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and there was a couple of people in the library's Restricted Section." He was getting closer, he must know a shortcut or something. "The Restricted Section?" That was Snape's voice, "Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."

Harry stood stock still as the two of them rounded the corner just ahead of him. Czeslaw pressed himself closer to him as they the other two got closer to them. They couldn't see either of them but the corridor was narrow and if they kept walking they would bump into them.

He gripped Czeslaw's arm and motioned backward. Somehow, they were able to move back slowly without revealing themselves. Behind them and slightly to the left, a door to a classroom stood slightly ajar. He guided the both of them to the room without them noticing. Thankfully, Snape and Filch walked right past them.

He looked around at the room they were in. It seemed like an unused classroom. A beautiful, ceiling high mirror stood in the back of the room. It seemed so out of place in the ordinary classroom. Czeslaw was moving around the room, ignoring the mirror but Harry was really interested in it. There was an inscription carved at the top in a language that he didn't understand.

He moved to the mirror and peered into it. He had to clap his hands over his mouth to stop himself from screaming. He whipped around, heart pounding. Czeslaw looked nervous, "What is it?!"

Harry looked around the nearly empty room. "I saw..." Czeslaw rolled his eyes, "Yeah, they're not here. The mirror of Erised is magic."

Harry turned back to the mirror. He was there, looking scared and out of breath, but there were at least ten other people behind him. He looked over his shoulder but it was still just Czeslaw digging around for something. He couldn't see him in the reflection though. He looked closely at the woman standing right behind him, smiling and waving. He reached out to were she should have been but he felt nothing but air.

Harry looked close into the mirror, noticing something weird. The woman behind him had eyes that looked just like his. Bright green and exactly the same shape. It took him a moment to realize that she was crying but smiling at the same time. Next to her was a tall, thin, man. He had his arm around her. He wore glasses and his hair was jet-black and untidy, just like his.

He had gotten so close to the mirror that his nose was nearly touching the glass. "Mom? Dad?" he whispered. The more he looked at the reflection, the more similarities he noticed he had with these people. He was looking at his family.

He put his hand to the glass, wanting to just fall through, to be with his family. "Useless." Czeslaw sounded weirdly cynical. "Wha-" Harry turned around. Czeslaw had turned a desk over and he was putting random objects on it. He was still rooting around for something. "That mirror," He picked up the back of a broken chair and tossed it to the side. "it's useless."

"It doesn't show you anything useful." he continued. "It just shows you what you want. Sometimes it's something you can get but it doesn't show you how to get it. Most of the time, though, it shows you things that you can't get, things that you will never have. Like dead family members."

What he said hurt. He wanted so badly for this to be real, that there was some way but he to get to know them. "What were you doing in the library?"

Czeslaw stood up straight and looked him in the eye. His eyes were weird, it was like he wasn't a kid at all, like he was trapped in a body that wasn't his. "The same thing you were doing." He looked toward the door, "We should both get going." Czeslaw walked out the door and left him alone.

Harry looked back at the mirror one last time. He felt a weird ache, half joy and half unbearable sadness. "I'll come back." He left the room but didn't see Czeslaw anywhere.

xxxxxxxxx

Harry had told Ron about the mirror and what he had seen at breakfast. So that night the two of them hid under the cloak and headed for the room. Harry tried to remember exactly where he had gone before. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to find the room again.

They had been wandering for nearly an hour when Ron whispered, "I'm freezing. Let's forget it and go back." "No!" Harry hissed, "I know it's here somewhere." It took them quite a while but eventually he found the suit of armor from before.

"It's here," he said, "just here, yes!" He pushed open the door and dropped the cloak as he ran to the mirror. He saw the same thing as he did yesterday night. "See, there they are." he whispered.

"I can't see anything." said Ron, standing to the side. "Look!" said harry excitedly, "Look at them all... there are loads of them..." Ron shook his head, "I can only see you."

Harry stepped to the side, "Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am." When he moved he couldn't see his family anymore, just Ron's reflection. "Look at me!" he said. "So is what Czeslaw said true? You can see what you want to see."

Ron was still staring at his reflection, "I'm older and I'm head boy!" Harry crossed his arms, "How would he know about this?" Ron shook his head, "I don't know, but you said that he said that it wasn't impossible to get this. I'm wearing the badge like Bill use to. And I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup. I'm Quidditch captain, too."

"Let me have another look, I want to see my parents again." said Harry. Ron's attention was still focused on the mirror. "You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time." Harry started to push him to the side. "You're only holding the Quidditch cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents." "Don't push me-" Ron argued back.

But as they were arguing, they heard some noise near the door. "Quick!" said Ron, wrapping the cloak around the both of them. Ms. Norris came peaking through the door. But she didn't seem to notice them.

"This isn't safe. She might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on." said Ron. He had to pull Harry out of the room.

The next morning they were sitting at the table in the Great Hall. "Want to play chess, Harry?" Ron asked. "No." Harry answered.

"Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?" Ron offered. Harry was distracted, "No... you go..."

"I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror." Ron said. "Don't go back tonight." Harry looked up at him, "Why not?" Ron shrugged his shoulder, "I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it. And anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you. What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"

"You sound like Hermione." Harry pointed out. "I'm serious, Harry," Ron ignored that comment, "don't go."

But Harry wasn't going to let anyone stop him.

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Dumbledore had known that Harry had seen the mirror and wanted to come back. He decided to meet him there.

Before him was something that he wasn't quite expecting. Czeslaw was sitting in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection with a melancholy expression. "So," Dumbledore said to him, startling I'm a little, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

Czeslaw sighed, "I've read about it before. It doesn't really have any use, it doesn't give you any knowledge or power. I wasn't going to come back." He stood and looked around, a little dismayed, "I don't know why I'm here." He looked up suddenly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snuck in."

Czeslaw looked nervous, like he was looking for a way out. "You're not in trouble." Dumbledore said gently. "You are a very curious person and something tells me that nothing I do will stop this. Not that I would want to, that is."

Czeslaw kept glancing over at the door. He was obviously anxious to leave. Under normal circumstances he would have let him go or he would leave himself but that wasn't really an option. He came here to meet with Harry.

And, besides that, he was curious. Czeslaw was a very interesting person. There was something about him that he didn't quite understand. Over the years he had known a lot of children and he could normally see when someone was different. Czeslaw was one of these people. As to whether it was good or bad, he couldn't tell yet.

"Czeslaw," he said quietly, once again drawing Czeslaw's attention back to him, "it is rather late and you should go back to bed. However, I would really like to meet with you to discuss this further. Perhaps in the afternoon."

"That's ok," said Czeslaw. Dumbledore immediately regretted his choice of words. Instead of insisting that he studied with him, he decided to let it go for now. They year wasn't over and he had plenty of time to talk with him.

Dumbledore nodded, "Alright, perhaps we'll see each other again some other time." Czeslaw smiled at him, "Yeah, I'm sure we will." Czeslaw took this time to leave the room. For most students that age he would be worried that they would be caught by Filch without something to help hide them but, for some reason, he was sure that Czeslaw could move around unhindered just fine.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and sat on one of the desks. He came here, expecting to explain the mirror to Harry. Czeslaw was a complete surprise to him. He wondered when Czeslaw discovered the mirror. Normally the house elves will tell him everything that happens in the school, so he knew that Czeslaw had been poking around the school for a couple of weeks now. They never told him anything about him coming in here before, though.

He smiled a little when Harry entered the room silently. He dropped the cloak as soon as he saw the mirror. He didn't look like he saw anyone on the way. He would have to ask about that later.

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I have this idea that the reason that Dumbledore seemed to know about everything that happens in the school is because the house elves tell him anything he wants to know. They can go in any room and hardly anyone seems to notice them so they know everything about everyone that enters the school. They talk to him because they trust him.


	13. A Terrible Quidditch Game or Nicolas Fla

Chapter 13 - A Terrible Quidditch Game or Nicolas Flamel

Firo had received a letter from Dumbledore just two days after Christmas, asking him to come to his office. He didn't ask for any specific time so Firo made sure that his family made it home safely before making his way to Dumbledore's office.

He had been in this office a couple of times, and every time it seemed a little creepy. Well, creepy wasn't really the word, it was just something about the feeling of this room threw him off. As weird as it was, it fit Dumbledore well.

When he entered the room, Faux hid his face under his wing. He ignored the bird and walked right up to Dumbledore. Firo had been staring at him for a couple of moments before he seemed to notice that Firo was even there. Firo thought that he seemed distracted.

"I'm glad you're here, Professor," said Dumbledore. "I needed to speak to you about your upcoming lessons."

Firo raised an eyebrow at him. "Something wrong with the way I'm teachin'?"

Dumbledore smiled slyly and shook his head slightly, "Nothing of the sort. I just have a request of you." He waited for Firo to reply but he said nothing. "I would like," Dumbledore continued, "for you not to mention Nicolas Flamel right now. I understand that he is an important figure in alchemy but there has been an issue involving him and I fear that bringing him up will cause more trouble."

Firo remembered that Nicolas Flamel was famous for inventing the Sorcerers Stone. He was also an immortal that was fairly well known. He supposed that someone was trying to steal the stone but he didn't understand what that had to do with the school. "Yeah," Firo agreed cautiously. "I guess I can restructure some of my lessons. But, if you don't mind, I have a question."

Dumbledore inclined his head so Firo took this as confirmation. "Why keep this information from the students? What good will that do anyone?"

Dumbledore chuckled slightly, as if he knew some secret. "Nicolas was a good friend of mine. We have known each other for many years. We had worked together on a very special project. I suppose I was given a lot more credit for that than I deserve but Nicolas insisted that it wasn't something to worry about."

To Firo is sounded like the ramblings of old man, and if he had been younger he would have said something rude. As it was, he decided to wait and see where this was going. But that didn't mean that he wasn't getting really irritated with his roundabout way of speaking.

Dumbledore paused to look at Firo, who was looking more and more bored by the second. They stared at each other for a moment before he continued. Firo suspected that he was waiting for his full attention. It was really annoying, like how you might treat a child, but he guessed that he deserved it.

"He had asked me to keep the stone for a while because someone is trying to steal it." Dumbledore finished. Firo thought that he actually had a lot more to his story but he cut it short for his sake.

He didn't want to believe what Dumbledore was implying. If Firo understood right, Dumbledore had the stone _in the school._ Firo narrowed his eyes as him, "Are you telling me you have it?"

Dumbledore didn't say anything. He didn't seem very concerned about Firo's glare, his small smile still there. "If one of the kids got there hands on the stone it could be really bad for everyone! What about the others that would want it?! What if someone like that entered the school!?" Firo's voice was raising.

"Don't you think-" "I am perfectly aware," Dumbledore interrupted, "of the dangers that come with having stone in my possession."

"I don't think you do." Firo said in a quiet anger before turning and walking away.

xxxxxxxxx

Hermione didn't get back until the day before classes started again. Although she did get a lot of reading done during her vacation, she didn't learn anything about Nicolas Flamel. She was horrified when she learned that Harry had been out of bed after hours. She was disappointed that neither of the boys had learned anything about him either.

She didn't know about Harry's nightmares since visiting the mirror; something that he had only told to Ron. That the mirror was starting to drive him mad. She didn't know that Dumbledore had told him not to visit the mirror anymore.

Once classes started, they started skimming through the books again. None of them thought that they were going to find it in the library, but Harry was sure that he had read the name somewhere but he just couldn't remember where. It was mostly just her and Ron, Harry had Quidditch practice.

She did feel a little bad for him, practicing out in the rain for hours at a time. It seemed like Wood, the team captain, was pushing them harder than ever.

One afternoon Ron had challenged her game of chess. She always seemed to lose against him at chess, but she was determined to beat him one of these days. She barely even noticed when Harry entered the room.

"Don't talk to me for a moment." said Ron. He was trying to come up with his next move, she was sure that she had him this time. "I need to concen-" but he paused when he looked at Harry's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."

He did. Something was clearly wrong.

Harry sat down with them and the three of them leaned close together so that they could talk quietly without anyone hearing them. Harry told them that Snape suddenly wanted to be the referee. This was really weird because he had never wanted to ref Quidditch before. In fact, she was pretty sure that he didn't even like Quidditch.

After hearing this she said, "Don't play." "Say you're ill," suggested Ron. "Pretend to break your leg," she added. "Really break your leg." said Ron.

"I can't." Harry refused. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."

While they were talking, Neville fell into the common room. Apparently someone had used the Leg-Locker Curse on him. That meant that he would have hopped all the way up to the Gryffindor Tower like that. Everyone was laughing at him as he fell down, except for Hermione.

She ran over to him and preformed the countercurse. As soon as she did, his legs sprang apart like a spring. He was trembling as he got up. Hermione started guiding him to sit with Harry and Ron. "What happened?" she asked.

"Malfoy," Neville answered. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on.

Hermione was appalled. "Go to Professor McGonagall! Report him!" she told him.

He shook his head and looked down at his lap, "I don't want more trouble." He mumbled.

"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" Ron spoke up. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor. Malfoy's already done that." Neville said sadly. He looked like he was going to cry.

Hermione was trying to think of the right thing to say when Harry offered him a Chocolate Frog. "You're worth twelve of Malfoy." said Harry. "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."

Neville gave him a weak smile. "Thanks, Harry... I think I'll go to bed... D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"

"Dumbledore again," Harry mused, looking at the card. "He was the first one I ever-" He gasped and looked up at Ron and Hermione. "I've found him!" he whispered excitedly, "I've found Flamel! I told you I've read the name somewhere before. I read it on the train coming here. Listen to this, 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel!'"

That reminded Hermione of something. She jumped to her feet, "Stay there!" she said as she ran up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. She came back down the stairs as fast as she could, carrying a huge, old book that she had almost forgotten she had.

She sat it down in front of them, "I never thought to look in here!" she whispered. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"Light?" said Ron.

"Be quiet." she said while she was flipping through the book, looking for something. She had read about Nicolas Flamel before but she hadn't paid that much attention. He was the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone.

After reading the article to the boys she said, "See? The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"

Harry nodded, "A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying! No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it."

"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in the Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," Added Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, while Harry was telling the others that he was determined to play, Czeslaw and Ennis were making lunch together in their little cottage. "Are you going to watch the upcoming Quidditch match?" Czeslaw said, almost offhandedly.

Ennis nodded, "Well, I'm not particularly interested in Quidditch but it is a good chance to spend some time with Firo." She blushed slightly, "I don't even know which teams are playing."

Czeslaw started to set the table, "Its Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff." She brought over the food, "Which team is better?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "They're both amateurs. Gryffindor has had a better season this year. Plus, they have a new Seeker. He's a first year, so it could go either way."

When the two of them left for Hogwarts, Czeslaw walked ahead of her. He was honestly getting really excited about this.

While Ennis was meeting with Firo, McGonagall found Czeslaw and offered to let him sit with her. He was more than happy to do so. The two of them found a seat that gave them a good vantage point for them to watch the game. Czeslaw glanced over to his left to see Dumbledore finding a seat as well.

It was odd to see him here. From what he understood, Dumbledore didn't really come to these games very often. Something was going on. He squinted to see Snape flying out onto the field. "I didn't think that Snape was very interested in Quidditch."

McGonagall pursed her lips together. "I suppose that he recently grew an interest." It was obvious to Czeslaw that she knew something was up. The Gryffindor team looked a little nervous as the team captains walked up to the middle of the field to shake hands.

xxxxxxxxx

Hermione and Ron found seats next to Neville. They made sure to have a good view of the match. They wanted to make sure that they could be there if Snape tried anything. "I've never seen Snape look so mean." Ron told her. "Look, they're off- Ouch!" Someone had poked him in the back of his head.

He turned to see Malfoy's annoying face. "Oh, sorry, Weasley," Malfoy said sarcastically. "didn't see you there." He grinned over at Crabbe and Goyle. "Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time?" He continued, "Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?" Ron refused to answer.

Hermione's eyes were fixed on Harry, who was circling high above the quidditch pitch, looking for the snitch. Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George hit a Bludger toward him.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" Malfoy smirked a couple of moments later, as Snape gave Gryffindor another penalty for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money. You should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."

Neville turned bright red, "I-I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy." He stammered out.

Malfoy and his cronies burst out with laughter. Ron didn't take his eyes from the game, "You tell him, Neville." he said.

Professor Firo's younger brother walked in front of him. He looked really mad. "Are you Ok, mate?" Ron asked. Czeslaw turned to him sharply. "This is a joke of a game, a mockery of the sport." He clinched his fists and was about to storm off when Hermione shouted, "Ron! Harry-" "What? Where?" Ron turned sharply.

"You're in luck, Weasley," Malfoy sneered, "Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground." That was too much. Before Malfoy had time to react Ron had tackled him. Neville seemed a bit hesitant but joined in the brawl.

Hermione was ignoring them in favor of watching Harry. Czeslaw even came up next to her to watch. "Come on, Harry!" she cheered, jumping to her feet. Harry was racing straight for Snape. Crabbe and Goyle had joined in the scrap. Snape turned his broom just in time as Harry whizzed past him. Seconds later Harry pulled out of his dive and held the Snitch up.

"I suppose that's rather impressive." said Czeslaw. She hadn't realized that he was still there. Unlike the rest of the crowd he wasn't that cheerful. It was like he didn't really care. "I know, that was one of the fastest that anyone had caught the Snitch. It has to be some sort of record. Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" She leaned forward and hugged Parvati Patil in the row ahead of her.

Czeslaw stood off to the side while the others were celebrating. They watched Harry jump off his broom when he was about a foot from the ground. Many of the Gryffindors came running onto the field to celebrate. Snape landed off to the side, looking really angry. Dumbledore had come down as well and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Well done," Dumbledore mumbled quietly so that only Harry could hear him. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror... been keeping busy... excellent..."

He glanced over at Severus, who spat bitterly on the ground. He really didn't like Harry on a personal level. This wasn't a good attitude for a teacher but he was useful for defeating Voldemort.

Dumbledore gave Harry an encouraging smile and a friendly pat on the shoulder before going his own way. He had other business to attend to. Professor Prochainezo's might be willing to fight against Voldemort. He would be a really good ally for the Order of the Phoenix.

For now, though, he was going to get to know both him and his wife. He seemed to have a problem with the way he ran the school and, while he was glad that he actually cared, He didn't want to think that he had any bad intentions for the children. His younger brother was interesting but he didn't seem to want to talk to him very much. Although, he seemed to really like Minerva.

xxxxxxxx

Harry was so proud of himself. Now he wasn't just famous for his name. He breathed in the sweet evening air. A group of Gryffindors ran up to him to lift onto their shoulders. Ron, Hermione and Czeslaw were standing in the distance. Ron and Hermione were jumping up and down, cheering for him. Ron had a heavy nosebleed but he was cheering just as loudly as everyone else.

He was on his way to put his broom back into the broomshed before meeting up with everyone else when he saw something suspicious. A hooded figure came quickly down the front steps of the castle. It walked as quickly as it could toward the forest. Harry was sure that he recognized that prowling walk, it was Snape. He was curious about what Snape was doing, sneaking off into the forest.

He mounted his broom and glided over the castle and watched Snape break into a run as he entered the forest. He followed as close as he could without getting caught. But he couldn't see from above because the trees were so thick. He flew around in circles, going lower and lower, until he was touching the tops of the branches. Then he could hear some voices coming from the forest.

Carefully, he climbed along one of the branches, holding onto his broomstick with one hand. He looked through the leaves to try and figure out what was going on. In the shadowy clearing he could almost make out Snape facing Quirrell. From this distance, he couldn't make out his face but his stuttering seemed worse than ever. Harry listened closely to what they were saying.

"...d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus..." "Oh, I thought we'd keep this private." Snape said in an icy voice, "Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all."

Quirrrell was mumbling something and Harry leaned forward to try and hear what he was saying but Snape interrupted. "Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?" "B-b-but Severus, I" Quirrell stuttered.

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," Snape stepped toward him menacingly. Quirrell looked away, "I-I don't know what you-" "You know perfectly well what I mean." Snape interrupted him again.

An owl hooted really loudly and Harry nearly fell out of the tree. He barely managed to steady himself just as Snape said, "-your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting." "B-but I d-d-dont-" Quirrell quivered. "Very well," Snape cut him off," We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie." He strode out of the clearing, leaving the conversation there. Quirrell looked petrified.

It was almost dark out so he decided to head back.

When he entered the castle Hermione greeted him, "Harry, where have you been?" she squeaked. Ron came over to him and patted him on the back. Czeslaw was standing off to one side, looking over at him. "We won! You won! We won!" Ron shouted. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right. talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."

"Never mind that now," Harry whispered. "Let's find an empty room," He glanced at Czeslaw. "Um, could you give us a moment." Czeslaw shrugged his shoulders.

"Wait," said Hermione. "Czeslaw is actually really smart, he could probably help us. In fact, he actually found out some information about Nicolas Flamel." "It was just some personal stuff," said Ron, "but it's still pretty cool that he could find out stuff like that."

Harry looked between them and said, "Ok, sure. Lets go."

When they were all in the room, he made sure that Peeves wasn't in there before telling them what he had heard in the forest. "So we were right, it is the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy." "What is Fluffy?" Czeslaw interrupted.

"It's Hagrid's dog," Ron answered. Czeslaw raised an eyebrow. "The hound? Why would he need Quirrell for that?" Ron laughed, "No, it's a giant, three headed dog." Czeslaw nodded.

Harry continued, "Snape said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocus'. I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have do some anti-dark arts spell that Snape needs to break though."

Ron and Hermione looked shocked, "So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" Hermione said in alarm. "It'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron said.

"Not necessarily." Czeslaw interjected. The others looks looked at him curiously. "Because of the nature of the Stone, there are sure to be a lot more safe guards. Surely, if one man can get through the security then it couldn't be that great or," He held up a finger, "Quirrell is amazing. For some reason Snape believes that Quirrrell is the only person capable of this. The question is, what do we know about Quirrell?"


	14. Lunch with Dumbledore or Norbert the Now

Czeslaw started calling people by their first names after getting to know them a little. This was supposed to be about Firo becoming a teacher but Czeslaw seems to have stolen the spotlight.

Warning, some coarse language (just a little)

Chapter 14 - Lunch with Dumbledore or Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback

After hearing what the kids had to say, Czeslaw decided that it might be best to find out everything that he could about Quirrell; it would be OK to put his own research on the back burner for now. It was tiring, researching people from the magic world. Muggle technologies made things a lot easier, but it wasn't like he wasn't used to this kind of research though.

There didn't seem to be anything especially useful about Quirinus Quirrell. Although he had very good grades, aced his NEWTs and OWLs, he was always a sort of timid person. The kind of person that was bullied as a child. He had been a professor of Muggle Studies, before he went on some journey. A lot of this information he got from talking to some of the more reasonable, and unassuming, teachers.

There wasn't a lot of information at the school about what he was studying but that wasn't the interesting part. According to eyewitness accounts, Quirrell's attitude changed a lot when he got back. He couldn't get any details, just that he had changed.

He didn't have a clue what that meant. Once again, he was in the library, surrounded by books and papers. He leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. Perhaps it was because of his intelligence but Snape was intelligent too. He also got high grades in school, and he was closer to Dumbledore. This didn't really make sense. That must mean that Quirrell had something that Snape didn't...what was it!?

He had only been sitting there for a few moments when someone stormed into the room and slammed their books on the table. He opened one eye to see who it was. Hermione was clearly very angry as she started opening her notes. "Sorry Czeslaw," she said when he looked at her, "I didn't mean to disturb you. It's just I have exams in just a little over ten weeks from now. I should have started studying last month. I'm going to be so far behind at this rate."

He raised an eyebrow and gave her a wry smile. "You think that you're that unprepared?" She gave him a slightly surprised look, "Of course. Ten weeks would be like a second to Nicolas Flamel. Anyway, if I don't pass the tests this year, I won't get into second year. These tests are very important. I've told that to the boys but they didn't listen at all."

He gave her a thoughtful look as he closed the book in front of him to give his full attention. "Nicolas Flamel is immortal but that doesn't mean that he knows everything. After you've lived for about a hundred years you start to play around a little more than studying. Besides, you have your entire life ahead of you. Don't waste it in a book."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. She glared at him before she started colorcoding her notes angrily. "I don't have time to play. You'll understand when your older." He rolled his eyes and packed up his notes. She would never know what an ironic thing that was to say. Maybe she'll understand what he was saying someday. That, or she is going to burn out and do something stupid.

As he left the library it seemed like everyone was in the halls. Even though he wasn't wearing a uniform the other students mostly ignored him so he thought he would just slip through. Snape glared at him as he passed him, irritated as always. In the distance he could see Ron yelling at someone for making fun of Quirrell. He had also seen Harry giving him encouraging smiles.

Normally he would just go home through the front gate but instead he decided to go through one of the passages that he found.

Every now and then he would see the Weasely twins moving around but they hadn't seen him or just decided that he wasn't worth their time. Either way, he was fine with it. There was one passage that he had found that he couldn't get through. It was passed a statue of a one-eyed witch. There had to be some secret to get through but he couldn't figure it out yet. He thought that these passages might come in handy someday. Besides, exploring them was kinda fun.

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Meanwhile, Firo was also working hard on his own study guides. The other teachers told him that they needed to start preparing the students for the upcoming tests. Most of them were actually really helpful. The only ones that didn't really try were Snape, because he was kind of a dick and, Quirrell.

That wasn't really fair to Quirrell. They hadn't actually had a real conversation since Diagon Alley. It seemed like he was a bit intimidated by him, even though he thought that Firo was much younger.

During the days that they had no classes Ennis would come and visit him while he was planning his lessons. She was a welcome distraction. One day, while in his office they were sitting together while he was looking through his notes. "What do you think about Snape?" He asked suddenly, out of the blue.

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "I don't know much about him. He seems... easily irritated." Firo set his notes to the side and looked her in the eyes, "He's acting suspicious. The stone is here," she gave him the same look that he had given Dumbledore, "I know. Dumbledore thought it was a good idea. I guess he and the creator were friends or something. Snape has been skulking around the room it's being kept in. It's not like I care if he has it or not, but these kids might be in danger if it's taken out of the room."

She gave him a tender look, "What do you plan to do about it?" He shook his head, "I don't know what I _can_ do. Dumbledore knows my opinion," she gave a little laugh, knowing what that meant, "Listen," she said patiently, "If you can't do anything about Snape, then do what you can to protect the children."

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During spring break Czeslaw was at the library every day. It didn't matter if he was with the students or not. The librarian had long since gotten used to him just being there.

One day, he passed the giant grounds keeper as he walked into the library. It was odd to see him in here and he looked a little nervous. Ignoring that, he headed to the table were Harry and Hermione were sitting together.

"Are you making any progress in your studies?" he asked Hermione sly. He hadn't spoken to her since they talked the week before. "Some," she replied tensely. "Hi Harry," he turned to him. "Hey Czeslaw," Harry greeted him.

Ron came up to them moments later and put a bunch of books on the table, "Dragons!" he whispered harshly. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these, Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland, From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."

Czeslaw raised an eyebrow, "So?" "Hagrid's always wanted a dragon," Harry responded, "He told me so the first time I ever met him." "But it's against our laws," Ron added, "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden. Anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."

"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain, are there?" Harry asked. Ron smiled, "Of course there are. Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget." 'That's not the only thing that they hush up' Czeslaw thought cynically.

"So what on earth is Hagrid up to?" Hermione asked. The other shrugged. "Supposing Mr. Hagrid is keeping a dragon illegally," Czeslaw put his hand on his chin in thought, "What are you going to do about it?" "I don't know," Harry answered, "but we need to find out for sure."

Although his plan was to come to the library to study, he ended up being invited to go to the gamekeeper's hut. It took then nearly an hour to finish up what they were doing and get ready to go. Czeslaw took this time to flip through the books about dragons. He didn't really know much about them, other than basic knowledge. They were dangerous creatures that he really had no interest in.

On the way down, he was considering leaving them but he was really interested in this. If there really was a dragon in the school, he wanted to know. The curtains were drawn in the hut. After Harry knocked on the door he heard a deep voice asking who it was. Clearly this was a man with something to hide. When they informed him it was them he ushered them in quickly and shut the door behind them.

It was so hot inside, stiflingly so. The Grounds Keeper had a fire blazing. The first thing that Czeslaw noticed was the huge black eggs sitting under the kettle in the fireplace. If the Ministry found out about that, he could lose his job, at least.

The Grounds Keeper made them all some tea and sandwiches but they all refused. "So, yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?" Mr. Hagrid asked nervously. "Yes," Harry said directly, "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy."

That wasn't the direction that Czeslaw thought that this conversation was going to go but he was fine with this too. The Grounds Keeper would have to be completely incompetent to tell them anything, like harmfully stupid. But there was a chance that he could get something out of this conversation if he asked the right questions. He already seemed OK with a bunch of children knowing about the stone. Unless he was informing Dumbledore about everything.

The Grounds Keeper shook his huge head, "O' course I can't. Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. The Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts. I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid," said Hermione in an especially flattering voice, "you might not want to tell us, but you do know. You know everything that goes on round here." They could see that the Grounds Keeper was smiling brightly under his big, fluffy beard. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." she continued, "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

The Grounds Keeper seemed really happy at the praise. This girl was a lot more useful than she let on. "Well," said the Grounds Keeper proudly, "I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell," he counted them out with his fingers as he listed them. "An' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?" asked Ron. "Yeah," The Grounds Keeper nodded, "yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."

Czeslaw had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. It was obvious that he would ask him for help if he asked all the others. If he helped with protecting it, he would be the perfect person to steal it. But this was in interesting development. If Snape helped on the protection charms, why would he need Quirrell? Surely he couldn't threaten the secrets out of the other teachers and he didn't seem close enough with any of them for them to tell him. Was it possible that it wasn't him? But he seemed so suspicious.

It seemed like the children came to the same conclusion about Snape wanting to steal it. "You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" Harry said a bit nervously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

He was wrong about this person, he was foolish enough to give away all the secrets. Even when Harry was being so obvious about his suspicion, he didn't seem to notice. Czeslaw wiped away the sweat from his brow, this place really was unbearably hot.

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," The Grounds Keeper seemed really proud of that. "Well, that's something," Harry muttered under his breath. It seemed like the children didn't think that he was very reliable either.

"Um," Czeslaw spoke for the first time since arriving, "it's getting a bit late. I was only suppose to be at the library for a while. I've got to go, sorry." "Really?" said the Grounds Keeper, "that's a shame." "Bye Czeslaw," said Hermione. Ron waved, "See ya mate." "Bye." Said Harry." He didn't really want to be caught up in something illegal.

Czeslaw had gotten a lot of information and now he needed to process this. More than likely, Firo has found a way to get himself involved as well. Well, that guy was actually pretty lucky so having him around probably wasn't the worst thing. Right now, he wanted to see the Head Master. He seemed like he was the center of everything.

When he got back to the cottage, Ennis wasn't there. This was becoming more and more common. Taking out a small scroll and quill, he wrote a quick note to Dumbledore:

 _Professor Dumbledore,_  
 _You had offered to study with me sometime. I would like to take you up on that offer. Maybe we could meet sometime and talk. I have tons of questions and I'm sure that you could show me lots of things that I didn't know._  
 _Sincerely, Czeslaw Meyer_

That sounded like something someone 'his age' would write.

xxxxxxxx

That night, when Ennis got home, Czeslaw was sitting in the kitchen, reading a book about dangerous animals. "Are you wanting to explore?" She asked jokingly.

He shook his head without turning away from his page. "There is a dangerous animal in the school that could cause some problems. I wanted to see if it had some weaknesses that could be exploited."

"It wouldn't happened to be a big dog would it?" she said, half jokingly. Firo had told her about the three headed dog but Czeslaw didn't seem like the type to go out of his way to fight something like that.

He sat the book down and looked directly into her eyes, "How did you know that?" She sat down across from him, "Firo mentioned something like that. Are you planning on doing something about it?"

Czeslaw shook his head, "Figures that Firo would already be involved in this. No, but I might give some people some information that I find." Ennis nodded, "Well, I know that you usually work alone but it might be good for both of you to get together with Firo. You might be able to help each other out."

He looked like he was going to answer but his little owl flew through the window and delivered a letter. Although she didn't know what it said, it probably confirmed something he was looking into, based on the look on his face. "Good news?"

He nodded, "Dumbledore wants to have lunch with me next week. He's a bit busy right now." "That's nice," said Ennis. She was confident that Czeslaw was cautious enough to keep himself out of too much trouble.

xxxxxxx

Ron was sitting next to Harry during breakfast about a week after they had found out about Hagrid's egg when Hedwig delivered a letter to Harry. It only had two words, "It's hatching."

This was one of the most exciting things that had ever happened to them. He suggested that they skip Herbology so they could go right down and see it. But, of course, Hermione argued with him.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?" he tried reasoning. She crossed her arms, "We've got lessons, we'll get in trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing-" "Shut up!" Harry whispered harshly. None of them had seen Malfoy, who was just a few feet away. It seemed like the nasty little brat was trying to listen in on their conversation.

He tried to convince Hermione all through Herbology and, finally, she agreed to go during the morning break. He wondered if they would see Czeslaw on the way. Probably not though. He seemed to just pop up randomly and most of the time he was busy with his own thing. He wondered what he could be doing, since he wasn't in classes. Maybe Professor Prochainezo gave him homework anyway, just because he was there. Being the family of a teacher must be hard.

As soon as class was finished they ran to the edge of the forest. Hagrid was waiting for them. He looked just as excited as Ron felt. "It's nearly out." he said, ushering them inside.

He had set the egg on the table. Even though it had a lot of cracks in it, they couldn't see what was inside. They could hear some weird clicking noise coming from it and there was something obviously moving. The four of them sat around the table and watched for the moment to come.

After a while, there was a scraping noise and the egg opened up all the way. The little dragon kinda flopped onto the table. It wasn't as majestic as he had expected. It's big wings looked like they was too big for it's body and it's bulging orange eyes were a stark difference to it's jet black body.

As it was looking around it sneezed and some sparks flew out of its snout. "Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured, reaching out to stroke it's tiny head but it snapped at his fingers. 'Beautiful' wouldn't be the word that Ron would use to describe it. "Bless him, he knows his mommy!" Hagrid said happily.

"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?" Ron nodded, that was a good point. Hagrid looked like he was about to answer but he seemed to notice something out the window. "What's the matter?" Ron asked.

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains. It's a kid. He's runnin' back up ter the school." Ron watched as Harry bolted to the door. He had told them that it was Malfoy, for sure.

xxxxxxxxx

Dumbledore was surprised when Czeslaw wrote to him. Unfortunately, he had some affairs to take care of first and he wanted to give him his full attention. Czeslaw was an extremely interesting person, powerful. Whether that power would lead to good or evil was the true question.

He had invited him to have lunch with him. He really just wanted to get to know him better. To find out who Czeslaw Meyer really was.

When Czeslaw arrived at his office, the first thing he did was look carefully at Faux. Weirdly, Faux had the same reaction as he did with Professor Prochainezo. That was something he was going to have to look into later. But for now he wanted to focus his attention on Czeslaw.

"I am very happy that you wanted to meet with me," he said, standing to greet the child. "Pleasure to be here," Czeslaw replied, smiling back. His face and actions seemed different from the last time they had met. It was almost like he was putting on an act.

The two of them sat down at a lunch that he had the house elves prepare earlier. As he started eating and Czeslaw started carefully picking apart the food, he decided it was as good a time as any to start their conversation. "So Czeslaw, I've been informed that you are quite the tenacious researcher."

"Thank you," he replied, still looking at the meal. Czeslaw looked a little conflicted for a moment; as if he wanted to ask something but couldn't quite figure out the right way to say it. Dumbledore let him have his time to think. He had found, over the years, that most of the time it was best to let children have their space when talking about serious things. And this looked like it was going to be a very serious discussion.

After a couple of moments Czeslaw looked him in the eye, his face had changed, almost like he had grown up in an instant, "How much do you know about Firo?"

That question had an interesting answer. The fact is that he didn't know very much about him. Firo Prochainezo hadn't published any books or papers and he wasn't in any recent newspapers. He didn't have any sort of record that could be looked into. It was like he appeared out of nowhere. He hadn't even heard about him until he met with Mr. Maiza. More importantly, was Czeslaw asking because he had something important that he wanted to share?

"When I went to America I was looking for someone else. But that person wasn't available to come to my school. Your brother was highly recommended." he answered simply. Czeslaw looked unhappy with that answer.

He put his hand on his chin and said, "Is that really the only reason he was hired? That's... disappointing. Do you know anything else about him?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, "Why do you think he should had been hired?"

Czeslaw shook his head, "Firo isn't really what I wanted to talk about. I've been here for a while now and I've noticed something interesting about the staff. Some of the people that you have hired are excellent at their jobs but some are... less then pleasant. For instance, Professor Quirrell seems like he couldn't stand up to a kitten, yet he is teaching defense against the dark Arts. He's not the only example either. What I'm saying is, you didn't seem to know anything about Firo before hiring him. Who's to say he wasn't, say a mass murderer who peddles drugs in his spare time."

Dumbledore nodded to show that he was listening. "Quirrell may come off as timid but he has a much stronger side that you have yet to see." Czeslaw looked doubtful but he went on, "Some time ago he went into the world to study vampires. It was quite an experience for him and he was a bit shook from it but I believe that there is bravery and passion in that man." He believed that too, but there was something going on and he wanted to know for sure if he was right.

"Fine," Czeslaw seemed to wave that off, "but there is one more teacher I would like to bring up." "And who might that be?" Dumbledore said, lacing his fingers over his forgotten food. He hadn't wanted this to turn into an unpleasant conversation but he wanted to see more of Czeslaw's personality.

"What little I've seen of Professor Snape has been hateful and spiteful. The petty little things he does are incredibly unprofessional. Besides that, he seems to dislike certain students because they are in the wrong house. I've heard many students talking about this, and if it were just one or two than I would have dismissed it, but it's a lot of them. And it's coming from all sides as well. Students from all the houses, including Slytherin, acknowledge that he gives them an unfair advantage. And this seems to go unabated for lack of reprimand of any sort. Or am I mistaken?" Czeslaw's voice was getting a little aggressive.

Dumbledore smiled at him. The more Czeslaw spoke, the less like a child he sounded. He believed that he was seeing the real Czeslaw for the first time. "For the most part I let my teachers teach their own way," Czeslaw narrowed his eyes when he said this, "but, if I think that they are harming a student in any way I have every intention of stepping in."

"I see," replied Czeslaw, looking rather disgusted, "I suppose it is important to teach children that life isn't fair." He wiped his face with the napkin, even though Dumbledore was sure that he hadn't eaten anything, and said, "Thank you for lunch, Professor Dumbledore, it has been... enlightening."

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The next day Firo was walking through the halls, not particularly paying attention to where he was going. He thought that there was something missing from his study guide but he just didn't know what it was.

He didn't look up until he heard a hissing. It was the janitor's cat. He rounded the corner out of curiosity to find the janitor washing something off the wall by hand. Most people around here would just use a simple spell. "Something magically stuck on?" Firo asked, tucking his papers under one arm and sticking the other hand in his pocket.

The janitor just snarled at him. "Do you do all of this yourself?" He continued. The janitor turned to him sharply, "What do you want with me now?" Firo just shrugged his shoulders, "I just thought that if something was magically stuck on, I know a couple of spells that might unstick it."

"I don't need your help," the janitor snapped and started scrubbing the wall harder.

xxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Ron, Harry and Hermione were trying to convince Hagrid to set Norbert free. However, Hagrid told them that he would die if he was on his own. Hagrid had spent so much of his time taking care of the dragon that he hadn't done any of his gamekeeping duties. Harry had suggested that Ron send a letter to his brother, Charlie, who was studying dragons in Romania.

Over the following week, while they waited for the reply from Charlie, they would help Hagrid out when they could, using the Invisibility Cloak to sneak around. One night, while Ron was helping Hagrid, Norbert bit him. He wrapped his hand in a handkerchief, which was now soaked in blood.

When he entered the common room, Harry and Hermione were waiting for him. "It bit me!" Ron showed him his injured hand. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."

While they were talking, there was a tap on the window. It seemed that they were going to get their answer. "It's Hedwig!" said Harry, running over to let it in, "She'll have Charlie's answer!" The three of them put their heads together to read it.

 _Dear Ron,_  
 _How are you? Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon._  
 _Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark._  
 _Send me an answer as soon as possible._  
 _Love,_ _Charlie_

When they had read the note Harry said, "We've got the invisibility cloak. It shouldn't be too difficult. I think the cloak is big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."

Unfortunately, by the morning the bite on Ron's hand had swollen to twice it's normal size. He was worried about going to Madam Pomfrey because she might recognize a dragon bite. However, by the afternoon the wound had turned green, and he was worried that Norbert's fangs might be poisonous.

He had hoped that he could avoid going to hospital wing but by the end of the week his hand had gotten much worse. He felt like it was going to fall off. And to make matters worse Malfoy had told Madam Pomfrey that he needed to borrow a book from him just so that he could laugh at him. He told her that it was a dog bite but she obviously didn't believe him.

It wasn't until he was telling Harry and Hermione about the situation that he remembered the letter he had received from Charlie was in the book. He wasn't in any shape to take the dragon to the tower anyway and now Malfoy knew about their plans. It was too late to change anything now, he could only hope that Harry and Hermione could do this without getting caught.

xxxxxxx

That week was rather busy for Firo, keeping up with the current lectures as well as trying to put the finishing touches on his study guide. It made his head hurt a little. He wanted to go outside and do something, anything. Being still this long was hard and he decided he needed to find something more active to do in his spare time.

Lately he had started walking through the halls and out onto the grounds at night, it was something to do for now. Most of the time it was very peaceful, although he would run into a teacher every now and then or sometimes Filtch, the janitor.

Recently he had learned that Filtch didn't have any magic. He couldn't help but think how terrible that was. It wasn't any wonder why he was so grumpy all the time. He wondered why he chose to work at a place that required magic. Even if you were from a magic family, you could always find a no-mag job right? Well, in the end it wasn't any of his business.

He was slowly walking up the staircases, on his way to the roof, when he heard something a little odd. It sounded like two people were coming his way, but there was also another pair of footsteps further on. He stopped in his tracks and listened carefully.

As the light of a lamp came closer to him, he stepped back out of the way, more out of habit than anything else. Professor McGonagall, still in all her nightwear, had one of the Slytherin students by the ear and was dragging him along. "Detention!" she shouted at him, "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you"

"You don't understand, Professor." the student tried to defend himself, "Harry Potter's coming, he's got a dragon!" Firo hoped that wasn't true, the last thing this school needed was another dangerous animal running around.

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies!" Professor McGonagall was furious. It seemed that she didn't even see Firo in the corner, and he had no intention of getting himself involved in this. Come on, I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"

The second pair of footsteps that he had heard when on up the stairs. Deciding that that wasn't any of his business either, he went the other way. If what that Malfoy kid said was true, a dragon would mean the ministry would get involved and Victor would probably show his mug around here too. Best to just let it be.

He went to another window, and looked out. The Quidditch pitch was just below him, looking lonely with no one inhabiting it. A memory of playing Quidditch among friends surfaced in his mind, a memory that wasn't his. He wondered how much effort he would have to put into learning to fly, even though _he_ didn't have any experience.

In the distance, illuminated by the moon, four people on brooms flew through the sky with something suspended between them. Maybe if there was a dragon in this school it was gone now.

With a sigh he headed back down the stairs. He wasn't quite tired yet but he supposed that he should start heading back to his room, he had classes early tomorrow. As he turned the corner he was startled to see Filch waiting there. "What are you doing up so late?!" he snarled.

The more Firo interacted with this guy, the more he disliked him. "I'm a teacher, I don't need your permission to be up." Firo glared at him. Filch met him with a challenging gaze. He thought he heard something being mumbled under his breath but didn't understand it.

As they stood there, glaring at each other, a couple of kids came around the corner looking very pleased with themselves. He recognized them as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. He was a bit surprised to see them, Hermione was one of his best students.

They were as surprised to see him as well, their smiles turned to shock almost instantly. "Well, well, well," Filch said menacingly, "We are in trouble."

Firo wondered how he didn't see them before. Little did he know that they used an Invisibility Cloak, which they had accidently left in the tower.


End file.
